When You Came
by silverdragon917
Summary: Kanda's confused, about the new kid, and his unexpected feelings towards him. What will happen when Kanda's pushed off the edge? Allen just wants to fit in, but will he get more then he thought? Definite Yullen. Hope you all enjoy.
1. Chapter 1 Meeting Him

**A/N: Quick little blurb then I'll let you get on to reading. I'm new to this so if my story is not to your liking I'm sorry, just trying to get the hang of this. Second if you could review, and tell me if I'm going in the right direction that would be awesome. I may end up changing the rating, depending on where this story decides to go. That's all for now, thanks for reading, and please review.**

**Silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own anything, not D Gray Man or its characters that is a privilege held by Katsura Hoshino.**

Chapter 1 Meeting Him

It was only Monday and sitting in Math class Kanda wanted to seriously hurt everyone there. Not that they'd really done anything to him, they were just so freaking annoying. The girls kept looking his way and giggling their heads off as though he hadn't told them a million times to shut the heck up and leave him alone. Then there was Lavi, the stupid kid wouldn't shut up and kept calling Kanda by his first name, which set his nerves on edge.

Running his fingers though his long, dark, almost blue hair he looked out the window trying to calm himself down so he could pay attention to the teacher. It was such a nice day out and all Kanda wanted to do was go home so he could train with his sword, Mugen, alone in the sunshine. He was abruptly brought out of his thoughts, because Lavi was throwing papers at him, trying to get his attention for one reason or another. Just as Kanda was about to punch the annoying red head in the face, there was a knock at the door.

Every head in the room turned to the door, as principal Lee walked in with a new student. The new kid honestly didn't look like a high school student, with a mop of completely white hair on his head, and round silver eyes that hinted at seeing more than Kanda could imagine. The scar on his face that ran from mid cheek to above his eyebrow made him even more of an oddity. He stood there nervously, fidgeting with his jacket, one gloved hand messing with the zipper, the other pulling the bottom down to rest just below his slender waist.

"This is our new arrival," Principal Lee stated, "I do hope you'll be nice and give him a warm welcome. Oh and would any of you be kind enough to escort our newest student body member to his classes?"

There of course where people in the class who would usually do something like that in a heartbeat, just to scout the new kid for gossip purposes, but the kid was just too weird to be seen with, so everyone stayed silent. They all looked at each other, then back at the new kid, making the boy blush all kinds of shades of pink.

Kanda couldn't care less who was stuck with the duty, as long as it wasn't him. He didn't work well with people, in fact he actually hated just about everyone in the room. This little fact was known by everyone, everyone but their idiot principal.

After a minute passed Principal Lee gave a huge sigh, "Well if no one's going to volunteer, Kanda, would you be so kind as to show this boy around the school?"

Well then, why did it seem that Kanda always drew the short straw? This made his day ten times better, not, it made the day so much worse. He had actually been looking forward to getting the day over with so he could go home and train, just like he always did, but because of this new duty the day would drag on for forever. If only he could get out of it, but no one was going to step up, so it looked like he was stuck with the job.

"Fine Principal Lee, whatever you say," he shot the man a very nasty look as he said it, clearly showing he was not fine with it.

"Great, I'll just leave Allen in your hands then," he seemed totally oblivious to Kanda's anger.

As soon as Principal Lee was out the door the math teacher grumbled loudly, something about not knowing there was going to be a new student, and asked the new kid to introduce himself and take a seat.

"Hello, my name is Allen Walker. I guess I'm in your class now," his voice was pretty high pitched for a boy, it almost sounded like a girls. He gave a sheepish grin and just stood there looking for an empty seat.

The class said hi in unison, everyone but Kanda. With introductions finished Allen took the empty seat he had found, the only empty seat, right next to Kanda.

"Hello, I'm Allen,"

"I already know that, you stupid Moyashi," Kanda said with disgust, did he really have to show this stupid moron around?

"What's a moyashi?" Allen was totally puzzled. Kanda knew that moyashi meant beansprout, but he wasn't going to let Allen in on that little secret. Kanda's nickname for the new student fit surprisingly well, at least in Kanda's mind it did. The kid was pretty short compared to the tall Japanese teen, and he was really thin.

"If you want to know so bad, go look it up. I don't have time to explain it to you," Kanda turned back to the board that the teacher was now writing notes on.

When the hour finally ended Kanda stood up and none to patiently waited for Allen. When the kid was finally ready, the both left for their next class.

"My next class is World History," Allen said as he eyed his schedule, "Could you show me where that is?"

"Whatever, just follow me Moyashi," Kanda said it none to nicely as he continued his walk down the hall. As Kanda passed most of the students avoided making eye contact with the moody teen, they all knew that Kanda could snap in an instant.

This was a fact that Allen didn't miss, "Why don't people look at you Kanda?"

"I was given the task of escorting you to your classes, not explaining every little thing to your tiny Moyashi brain," as he said this Kanda shot Allen a death glare that quickly shut him up.

They walked down the hall in silence until they made it to the History wing.

"It says I'm in room 201. Which room is that?" Allen asked, consulting his schedule once more. Kanda froze for a second, the stupid kid was in another one of his classes, this was turning into a really bad day.

"Just come with me," Kanda growled, he was really not enjoying this at all. Allen followed him into their class and was immediately stared at by all the kids in the already started class.

"Kanda, why are you late to class? And who is this new student?" the teacher asked clearly surprised.

"If you want to know why I'm late ask him," Kanda pointed with his thumb back at Allen, who was standing awkwardly behind the brooding teen.

"Hello, my name is Allen Walker, sorry about being late, I'm a new student," Allen said sheepishly as Kanda mumbled grumpily on the way to his seat.

"Well this is wonderful," the history teacher said, "I'm sure you'll all give our new student Allen a warm welcome. You can sit in that empty seat Allen." Of course the only empty seat in the entire room was right next to Kanda.

"Why do I always get stuck next to the Moyashi? His stupidity is annoying enough without sitting next to him," Kanda thought as he sat down in his seat in the back row. As Allen took his seat next to Kanda, the teacher started up class once again.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

As he walked into the math class Allen could already tell that this was going to be just like all the other schools he'd been to. The students would stare, a few of them might be brave enough to ask him about his scar, but really no one would welcome him. He had gotten used to it, the other kids being afraid of him just because he was a little different. Okay that's a lie he was more than a little different, but still everyone just treated him like a freak.

At that point the principal had informed the class of Allen's new student status, and had assigned a student to be his escort for the day. As the principal pointed out the kid, Allen was very happily surprised. The teen had only glanced his way, he didn't stare the way the other kids had. Allen could tell right away that he and this Kanda kid would get along.

After introducing himself to the class Allen sat down next to the teen that was supposed to show him around for the day. When trying to make small talk failed, Allen gave up and tried to pay attention to the teacher, who was actually teaching material Allen had covered weeks ago at his other school.

This of course gave his mind some time to wander, which was a very bad thing in Allen's case. The first thing on his mind was the thing that Kanda had called him, he couldn't quiet recall it, but it was something like 'moyoshi' or 'mayashi'. Anyway Allen was very perplexed by the nickname, and vowed to look it up online the minute he got to a computer. Beside that thought Allen was remembering his old schools, and all the problems he had had with each and every one of them.

In one he'd been in so many fights in the first week that the school had actually suspended him. In another Allen had too many problems fitting in and he'd ended up an outcast, no one would even talk to him. These were actually pretty normal occurrences, in terms of Allen's life. Allen really hoped that this school might be different, although he really doubted it, except, perhaps when it came to the people.

As Allen pondered this the bell rang, bringing him out of his thoughts. He tried to get his things together quickly, but failed because Kanda's angry glare was making him more than a little nervous. When he finally got all his stuff together, Allen walked over the where Kanda was standing, waiting for him. Kanda practically growled at Allen to hurry up so they could get to class. Allen, ever dutiful, followed him while informing the older teen that he had History next.

While they walked down the hall Allen pondered about the older teen. Allen didn't understand what the long haired teen's problem was. All he had to do was show Allen around the school, and maybe be a bit nice. Apparently that was a little too hard for the grumpy kid to do.

"Oh well," Allen thought, "Take it in stride." That is what he had done his entire life. He walked into History just behind Kanda and had to go through the painful process of introducing himself again, something he knew he would have to do many times during the day. He sat down next to Kanda in the only open seat as the teacher went back to his lesson on The War of 1812, which Allen had learned about weeks before.

As he tried to pay attention to the teacher, who was very boring, he found himself taking peeks at the brooding student beside him. From what he could tell, his escort was fit, judging by his toned body and lean appearance, giving Allen some insight on Kanda's motivation and determination. Allen also noticed the beautiful complexity of the Japanese boys face, strong, but subtle features, all framed by his flowing blue-black hair.

Allen shook his head, he should not being having thoughts like this on his first day at a new school, he should be focusing on the teacher and the material they were learning. At least that's what he told himself, but in all honesty, he shouldn't be having those kinds of thoughts because it was dangerous, both to him and the subject of is musings. Any time he'd make a friend at a new school, that friend usually ended up getting beat to a bloody pulp, just for being friends with the freaky new kid. Allen could take care of himself, but when it came to others he seemed to have no control, so he distanced himself, all in the hopes that no one would be stupid enough to befriend him.

Allen tried to mentally refocus himself, not for his sake but for Kanda's, but ended up failing miserably when Kanda began playing with one of the long strands of hair that framed his face. The motion was so enticing that Allen felt the urge to reach over and start petting the teen's gloriously long hair.

He shook his head again, trying to rid himself of what he just saw, trying in vain to find a way to ignore Kanda. Thankfully Allen was able to restrain himself throughout the hour, but he didn't know if he could manage one more class of sitting next to Kanda, the other boy might drive him insane.

**So what did you all think? Once again please review, I have some more chapters in the works, not sure when I'll be able to type then up though. Hope you enjoyed.**


	2. Chapter 2 Noticing

**A/N: First off I'd like to thank the people who reviewed my first chapter ever,**

**Yumi x L Lawliet**

**LovinOnlyForYuu**

**And Pathless**

**And remind all of you that reviews are welcome, just don't be too hard on me, please.**

**Updates are taking a little longer than I expected, mainly because I'm a perfectionist and typing up each chapter takes forever, please be patient though, I'll try to do my best to add new chapters on a regular basis.**

**Anyway this chapter has a lot less of Kanda's point of view and a lot more of Allen's. Don't worry, there will be more Kanda in the next chapter I promise. I'm gonna stop talking now and let you enjoy the next chapter.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own anything, not D Gray Man or its characters that is a privilege held by Katsura Hoshino.**

Chapter 2 Noticing

Kanda smiled inwardly as he messed with the poor Moyashi's head. All throughout the history class the kid had been sneaking looks at him. The white haired teen seemed to have no idea that Kanda could see through the slight peeks.

About half way through the hour Kanda was getting very annoyed with the new kid looking at him every five seconds or so. Instead of blowing up the way he usually did, Kanda decide to have some fun with the sprout. That's when Kanda began to play with his hair, which wasn't abnormal, although he generally never did it knowingly.

Gently rapping a strand of hair around his index finger Kanda began to create little ringlets on his finger, only to let them fall out once again. During this would ordeal Kanda pretended to be paying absolute attention to the teacher, but he was really watching Allen to see if there was any reaction.

Boy was there, Allen stopped even trying to pay attention to the lesson, and all of his attention was focused on Kanda's hair.

Kanda continued the motion for about ten minutes, until he finally thought, "What the hell am I doing? Trying to seduce the sprout? No freaking way." He quickly stopped messing with his hair, what he'd been thinking in the first place was a mystery. Once he'd gotten over his outrage at his thoughts his focus went back to the lesson, but he couldn't help the faint smile that crossed his thoughts over Allen's sneaking looks.

When the hour finally ended, both Kanda and Allen got up and walked out of the classroom together. Kanda started off in the direction of his next class, expecting Allen to follow him without question. After walking half way down the hall he looked back to see the new kid following dutifully behind.

"My next class is Spanish," Allen said knowing his companion really didn't care.

"Fine I'll show you the way, I'm going over there anyway." Kanda said over his shoulder. Looking at the kid for any objections, when there weren't any he continued down the hall.

In truth Kanda's next class was French, a subject he had enjoyed sense starting it in 8th grade. Kanda had no idea what drew him to the language, it was just so majestic, and flowing, all while managing to be frustratingly annoying. Kanda had actually taken a school trip to France the previous summer, and had found the country to be exactly like the language, very pretty, while still managing to get under his skin. Kind of like Allen, so pretty in features, and yet so annoyingly complex. He didn't understand anything the kid did, and didn't know how to act in front of him without doing something wrong. What was even more annoying and confusing was the sprouts fascination with Kanda. Of all the people in the school, Allen had to choose Kanda to be infatuated with.

Kanda mentally shook himself, once again, trying to rid his mind of images of Allen. All he had to do was make it to French in one piece, and then he could decide on his feelings towards the sprout without any interruptions from said boy. Kanda would have an hour, no more or less, to decide how to proceed on the topic of dealing with Allen.

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By the time the history class ended, Allen had worked himself into a very confused state. What the heck was Kanda trying to do? One minute he's pissed off, the next he's doing stuff like playing with his hair, almost as if tempting Allen to do something. Just looking at Kanda brought on thoughts of the older teen's rapid mood changes, from annoyed to playful in the blink of an eye. Allen honestly didn't understand the older teen, not that he would ever want to.

Allen followed Kanda out the door and back into the hallway to go to his next class. He looked at his schedule to see that he had Spanish next, which confused him. At his old school he'd taken Latin and Italian, but apparently this school offered neither, so he had been stuck in first year Spanish. Thankfully Allen had always had a knack for languages, so Spanish should be easy.

When he told Kanda that he needed to go to Spanish next, the blue haired teen seemed to relax slightly. Apparently Allen would not be sharing the next class with his grumpy escort, which was a good thing. It gave him some time to think about his new school, and his angry escort without getting caught.

As they walked down the halls Allen tried to ignore the stares of the other students as he went by, sure he was an oddity, that was for sure, but it was really rude for people to stare the way they did. Not that he hadn't gotten used to the stares his entire life, ever sense that day so many years ago, when everything in Allen's life had changed. Allen stopped his thoughts right there, he would not dwell in the past today, it was a day for new begins, not for moping around remembering what had once been.

Allen brought his thoughts back around to the reason for the stares, his scar and his white hair. Those kinds of things did get you noticed pretty quickly in high school. As everyone else stared Allen noticed that his escort didn't ever seem to look in his direction. Almost as if the blue haired teen was trying to avoid any and all eye contact, which, strange as it sounds, actually made Allen feel a little better.

They finally made it to the language wing and after Kanda nodded his head and grunted in the general direction of Allen's Spanish class they parted ways for the next hour. Just before he walked into the room, Allen turned around just in time to see Kanda walk into a French room.

"So Kanda takes a romance language," Allen thought to himself with a smirk, as he walked into the room.

Once again the teacher looked surprised to find a new student in her class, and had Allen promptly introduce himself to the class. After another awkward introduction, where Allen stated his name while everyone looked at him, Allen found himself a seat next to a red head, with an eye patch on for whatever reason.

"Hey I'm Lavi," the kid said, "We have first hour Math together."

Allen remember him, he had been trying to get Kanda's attention by throwing papers at the long haired teen when Allen had walked into the math class. Lavi gave him an encouraging smile and offered up his hand.

"Well at least this kid has some manners," thought Allen as he shook Lavi's hand. Lavi frowned at Allen's hand in puzzlement for a second before letting go.

"Why do you wear gloves?" the question was out of Lavi's mouth before he could even to rein it back in, "And what's with the scar on your face?"

So Lavi was one of the curious ones, one of the few people who were actually brave enough to ask Allen about his abnormalities. Allen knew that Lavi was going to be sorely disappointed, Allen never shared anything with anyone, and it was way too personal to delve into his past.

"Why do you want to know?" Allen asked, baiting him a bit before launching into a lie.

"I'm just wondering, must have an interesting back story," was all Lavi said in reply.

Allen grimaced inwardly, he hated talking about himself, even if what he said was a total lie. He had to come up with something fast or else the red head would keep asking, he seemed like the type who didn't give up until he knew the truth.

"Well, first off I got the scar in a bike accident when I was younger, and second I wear the gloves because I have a skin condition," Allen told Lavi, the lie wasn't flawless but it would do. Lavi looked at the whit haired teen before him skeptically, he wasn't buying a word of it, even though Allen was really great at lying. Apparently Lavi wasn't going to push it any farther though, because he went back to listening to the teacher.

This finally gave Allen some time to think about his new school, without having Kanda there to intrude on his thoughts. Even without Kanda there Allen still managed to get sidetracked thinking about the hot Japanese teen.

He thought about the reaction he was getting as a new student, which wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst either. When the principal had chosen Kanda as his escort was incomprehensible to him, he got the feeling that the moody teen would like to be anywhere but showing a new student around. Even though Kanda seemed to have no love for the task assigned him, Allen was glad that Kanda had been chosen for the job. He was just the type of person Allen liked, he didn't ask too many questions, and didn't poke about in other people's business.

Once again his thoughts were straying to Kanda when they shouldn't have been. Allen quickly readjusted his thoughts to the school, and the people within it. Allen had been in quite a few schools in his life, mainly because his legal guardian traveled a lot for various reasons. This was one of the better schools in terms of people, fewer people looked at him like a freak, and he seemed to be making friends with a couple people, which was saying something. Hopefully the rest of the day would be this uneventful, but that wasn't likely to happen, Allen always managed to grab someone's attention. Certain people apparently thought he was though, just based on his scar, therefor he usually got into a fight by the end of his first day of school. Thankfully years of living with his guardian had taught him how to fight, and usually win despite his size. Although at this school he had Kanda as an escort, which, just by the way people looked at him, Allen could tell was probably a good thing. Kanda was a very imposing figure, and knowledge of how to fight and win was evident in his muscular frame.

There he went again, thinking about Kanda. It was proving to be more difficult than expected to keep his mind off the topic of Kanda.

"This is a very, very bad sign," thought Allen, giving an outward grimace.

"Are you okay? You look a little sick," Lavi was leaning over his desk to talk to Allen.

"I'm fine, but thanks for asking," Allen said back, even though he was feeling anything but. At that point the teacher asked him something in Spanish, which had Allen stupidly looking up at her. Thankfully Lavi was next to him and answered her with a smile, which she returned then went back to the lesson.

"I really should pay more attention," thought Allen. To Lavi he asked, "What did she say? And what did you tell her?"

"Oh she asked if we would like to share what we were talking about. My response was that you were having trouble and that I was trying to help you. Kind like I'm doing now."

Allen gave a relived sigh, it wasn't as bad as he thought. He turned back to the lesson, given that trying to think was only making him confused. After about ten minutes of paying attention some of the words were starting to make sense, the teacher was speaking entirely in Spanish though so Allen had to rely heavily on Lavi's knowledge of the language.

The hour was almost over when Lavi asked, "Hey what hour do you have lunch? Fourth or fifth?"

Taking a quick look at his schedule Allen saw that he actually had lunch next hour, which meant he would finally get to eat, he was starving. He relayed this information to Lavi, which had the red head beaming in excitement.

"That means you have lunch with Lenalee, Yuu, and I," Lavi said.

"Who's Lenalee? And who's Yuu?" Allen was a little perplexed.

"Oh I forgot you only know Yuu by his last name. Yuu is Kanda, but he hates it when you call him Yuu, I really don't know why. Lenalee is one of my friends, you'll love her," he smiled at Allen, then went back to paying attention to the teacher.

"So, Yuu is Kanda's first name," Allen thought, "Good to know."

**I know I know, my chapter division kind of sucks, oh well this is where I'm going to stop it. Hope you liked Chapter 2. Remember to review. Thanks.**

**In a quick answer to your question Yumi x L Lawliet, Lavi's gonna show up in the next chapter, and I do mean like actually show up, not just have a one liner then leave.**


	3. Chapter 3 Commuting Takes Some Thought

**A/N: So third chapter (Yay!), it's a little longer than the others (Yes they will be getting longer and longer, but that's not my fault, I blame the story). As promised there is more Kanda, although Allen's part has pretty much stayed the same length. Thanks again for the reviews they've really helped me feel like this isn't a total waste of time (not that I would do much else with my time).**

**Anyways thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this chapter, by the way there is some almost violence (you'll see). Please remember to review.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray Man or any of the characters….. Sadly :'(**

Chapter 3 Commuting Takes Some Thought

After Kanda parted ways with Allen and walked into French he gave a huge mental sigh. He was finally free of the sprout, if only for the hour. Honestly that hour couldn't last long enough for Kanda. He was just getting so worn down by the annoying Moyashi, not physically, but mentally. That kid messed with his thought process, and all Kanda was able to think about was him.

The defiantly posed as a problem, mainly because Kanda hated attachment of any kind. His past had taught him to never grow attached to anything, or anyone, mainly because anyone he grew close to usually ended up dead. Which is why having feelings for the sprout at all, whether just in friendship, or something more, was out of the question. He didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of him.

After twenty minutes of thinking on the topic of Allen, Kanda finally decided it was best for everyone if he ignored his feelings, meaning he would treat the sprout with the same distain and anger he showed everyone else. He realized that doing this was not a permanent fix, but for the time being it would have to do.

With this knowledge Kanda felt better somehow, he was now back in control of his life, which had been thrown off by the introduction of one white haired beansprout. No longer plagued by unwanted thoughts of Allen, Kanda was able to actually pay attention in his French class, not that he needed to, he was top of the class after all. Due to that fact he list his mind wander a bit while looking out the window.

Knowing he wasn't going to pursue his feelings Kanda allowed his thoughts to wander to the topic of Allen, the kid was actually really adorable. Despite the fact that he was really annoying, Allen seemed to have some kind of aura around him that reflected happiness and peace, but of some reason Kanda had a nagging feeling that the kid was hiding something. That feeling wouldn't go away and after a while Kanda began to wonder the origins of Allen's strange scar.

How did someone happen upon a scar like that? The scar itself wasn't that bad, it wand the pentagram part above it that was really interesting. One didn't usually see a scar in the shape of a perfect pentagram occur in a normal type of accident. Then there were the gloves, the kid had gloves on even though it was only October and he didn't seem to ever take them off, which added to the puzzle. Kanda thought over all of this while half paying attention to a French lesson about restaurant etiquette.

Despite his strange faults Kanda couldn't help but find Allen annoyingly amusing. The white haired teen was a puzzle and Kanda was determined to solve it, no matter what the cost. This wasn't getting emotionally attached, Kanda reasoned, it was just looking into something that was puzzling him. This is why he didn't want to think about Allen, it made him even more confused than before, which made him angrier as well.

The bell rang, abruptly cutting into Kanda' thoughts. He strolled out of his class and walked over to Allen's, only to have the sprout run into him on his way out the door. After growling at Allen to watch where he was going, Lavi appeared beside them.

"Yo, what's up Yuu?" Lavi asked, trying to piss Kanda off with his use of the teen's first name. He succeeded, and was happy to notice the vein popping from Kanda's forehead.

"I told you not to call me that, EVER," Kanda growled at the red haired teen. He was getting really pissed off, very quickly, and Lavi honestly knew better then to provoke him, but he did so anyway.

"Oh I'm so scared of Yuu," Lavi mocked further pissing Kanda off. It was at that point that Kanda exploded. He grabbed Lavi by the collar and shoved him into the nearest bank of lockers. Raising his fist he was about to hit the annoying red head square in the jaw, until he felt a pressure on this arm. Who the heck was trying to stop him? The question was wasted, because Kanda already knew who it was, no one who had seen Kanda's outbursts would dare try and stop him, not even the teachers. Therefore, it was the only person in the school who had yet to see one of his enraged attacks, Allen.

Kanda looked over his shoulder, at the hand, and then at its owner, "What are you doing Moyashi? Trying to stop me?" he mocked Allen, letting all his anger, confusion, and hate seep into the words.

"Put him down," Allen's voice was eerily calm, ice sliding into it, making Kanda internally shudder. The sprout didn't even raise his voice, only calmly asked for Kanda to stop. The pressure on his arm increased ever so slightly, and just from that Kanda could tell that the sprout was a lot stronger then he looked. Not really wanting to get into a fight with the new kid, Kanda but Lavi back down on the floor, and waited for Allen to take his hand off. Allen reacted slowly, almost as if he was surprised by his forcefulness, but he eventually lessened his grip on the young samurai's arm, and then Allen let his arm fall to his side.

Allen said something about how they all had lunch next hour and that they should all get a move on. Lavi perked up and agreed, almost as if Kanda hadn't almost pounded the daylights out of him. Kanda was dumbfounded, how could someone so small contain so much pent up power, and the look in Allen's eye as he stopped the long haired teen's attack on Lavi. The white haired ten looked scary, he had a glint in his eye that said he didn't want to be messed with.

"Whatever, come on I'll show you the way," Kanda mumbled to Allen as he headed off in the direction of the cafeteria. Allen followed behind, talking to Lavi about something that had happened in their Spanish class. Kanda thought back to what he knew about the white haired new student, which wasn't much. Kanda didn't even know where the kid went to school before coming to torment him, which was saying something. Kanda made up his mind to find out as soon as possible.

"Earth to Kanda, anyone home?" Lavi asked, waving a hand in Kanda's face. The Japanese teen realized he'd been stuck in his thought, and had obviously missed a question or at least part of the conversation.

"What?" Kanda growled out. He may not have beat the red haired teen to a pulp, but that didn't mean that Kanda wasn't still mad.

"Calm down, gosh your always so tense. I was just telling Allen about the cafeteria and out amazing cook Jerry," Lavi answered quickly, trying to avoid another outburst no doubt.

"What about him? He makes really good Soba, and that's all I care about," Kanda had a thing for Soba noodles, he really wouldn't eat anything else.

"Well I was telling Allen about how Jerry can make almost anything you could want, he really is an amazing cook," Lavi was lost for a moment, thinking about food, he was very hungry.

"Um, Lavi you started to drool," Allen pointed out, "Let's get the cafeteria quick, I'm starving."

"Me too," Lavi said patting his stomach.

"_These two are complete idiots," _Kanda thought to himself, _"Why do they insist on hanging around me?" _ Kanda was sulking because he hadn't gotten to punch Lavi, or get any of his anger out really, which meant that his feelings were being bottled, which in turn would mean an eventual huge explosion. Kanda was also sulking because it seemed that Allen and Lavi were getting along really well, which bothered him because he was supposed to be the sprouts guide, not the annoying red head.

Kanda stopped his thoughts dead in their tracks, he would not think like that, Allen wasn't his, and therefor he had no right to think like that. Besides if Allen was making friends with Lavi he wouldn't be hanging around Kanda as much, which was defiantly for the better. Even after rationalizing his thoughts, Kanda couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Lavi and his easy ability to be friends with Allen. Whatever he'd get over it soon enough.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by someone laughing loudly in the hall. The sound grated on his nerves, he'd never liked laughter it had always sounded so stupid. He searched for the source of the sound and wasn't very surprised to find that Allen was the one who had laughed. From what Kanda could see one of them had told a joke that Allen had found incredibly funny. Kanda practically growled in annoyance, which Allen picked up on.

"What's wrong Kanda?" Allen asked his blue haired companion.

Kanda was getting sick of the sprout asking him questions, even simple ones. It just led to more confusion within the Japanese teen, and he hated confusion with a passion.

"Nothing, I'm just really hungry, let's get a move on," It's wasn't a total lie, Kanda was practically starving, he hadn't eaten much for breakfast.

"Looks like we're here," Lavi interrupted their exchange to point out the cafeteria to Allen. With that lunch began.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

As Allen walked into the hallway behind Lavi his thoughts were not on whatever the red head was talking about, they were wandering again onto the topic of Kanda. So when he ran into someone he wasn't all that surprised, he really hadn't been paying attention to anything, let alone where he was walking.

"Watch were you're going Moyashi," a familiar deep voice came from above him. Allen's head snapped up, he'd run into Kanda, the exact person he had been thinking about. He started to blush almost uncontrollably, and raised a hand to cover it up when Kanda seemed to explode in anger.

Allen had no clue what had happened, all he knew was that Kanda had Lavi pushed up against the lockers, winding up to hit the red head in the face. He reacted on instinct, far faster than if he'd thought it all out. Allen grabbed the older teens arm just before he hit Lavi straight in the jaw. The look Kanda gave him could have frozen fire there was so much ice in his eyes. Despite the ice in his eyes, Kanda's voice was heated and tense as he mocked Allen's seeming lack of strength. Allen knew he didn't look like much, but he'd had enough practice at his other schools to know how to handle this without relying on strength. He returned Kanda's gaze adding more ice to his voice as he told the older teen to put his new friend down.

The young samurai looked dumbfounded, apparently no one had ever had the guts to stand up to the kid before. _"Well let him deal with that," _Allen made a mental smirk as the blue haired teen put the one he was about to punch down. The older teen looked from Allen to the arm restraining him, clearly indicating that he could now be let go.

Allen found himself holding on to the other teens arm a little longer, feeling the coils of muscle beneath fabric and skin. He slowly let go, trying not to grin sheepishly at his thoughts, he didn't want to clue the other teen into his minds wanderings.

"We really should be getting to lunch, we all have it next right?" Allen said to cover up his mental slip. Kanda's reply was just what the white haired teen expected, brief and laced with its usual amount of hate. For some reason Allen's legs nearly turned to jelly just listening to Kanda's deep voice. Allen shook off the strange feeling and tried to act like nothing was wrong.

Seeing that Kanda was slipping into his own thoughts, Allen started up a conversation with Lavi to pass the time.

"So what exactly was that lesson about in Spanish?" Allen asked, he really had no idea what was going on in the class, even with Lavi's interjections during the lesson.

"She was talking about an upcoming project. We have to use the traveling words we just learned to create a travel itinerary. We have to choose a Spanish speaking country and visit some of the special land marks of the country we're visiting Finally we have to create a slideshow of our trip to show the class, using pictures off the internet," Lavi said it as though it was nothing. Allen was staring open mouthed at his new red head friend. No way would a teacher assign that much work for a low level Spanish class, it was just too much to do.

"Hey are you okay Allen?" Lavi asked taking in Allen's surprised expression.

"I'm just fine," Allen snapped out of his shocked state, "You may have to help with that project though, I'm not very good at Spanish."

"So I could tell, I basically had to act as your translator today. Don't worry it's a pretty easy language you'll pick it up in no time," Lavi tried to reassure his white haired friend. It was at that moment that Allen's stomach began to growl uncontrollably, loud enough for Lavi to hear over the din in the hallway.

"Sorry I'm just really hungry," Allen explained, "I really hope the cafeteria food is good here, my old school had the most disgusting food ever." Allen wrinkled his nose at the thought, remembering all the nasty food he'd had to consume over the years.

"Don't worry, our school had one of the best cooks ever. His name is Jerry, and he'll cook up anything, and I do mean anything you could want. Right Kanda?" Lavi turned to the other teen expecting a grumbled answer. When he didn't get one he asked again, but the long haired teen was so absorbed in his own thoughts he didn't hear. Lavi waved a hand in front of the other teen face, finally getting his attention. Allen really didn't pay much attention to the conversation that followed, all he seemed to be able to focus on was Kanda's masculine voice.

Allen was pulled from his thoughts when Kanda stopped speaking. His eyes were drawn to Lavi's face, which had a blissful expression on it, but his eyes strayed to the drool that was slowly creeping down the red head's face. After informing the other teen of his drooling problem, they both started talking about food.

"So what's your favorite type of food?" Lavi asked his white haired companion.

"Do I have to pick just one?" Allen whined, "I like so many different kinds of food, mac and cheese, hamburgers, toast, fish sticks, chicken fingers, oh and I couldn't forget the pickled pigs feet." Allen finished his list eyeing Lavi to see his reaction. It took a few seconds for it to sink in, but when it did the red head gave the most disgusted look in human history.

"Pickled pigs feet? That's gross!" Lavi exclaimed while Allen started to laugh his head off.

"You…. didn't think…. I was….. serious, did you?" Allen said between peals of laughter.

"Really? That was a really cruel joke Allen, I may just have to start calling you Moyashi like Kanda," Lavi started chuckling over the joke as well, but stopped when he saw the seething anger in Kanda's eyes.

There was that word again, why did it seem everyone knew what it meant but Allen? He pushed the thought out of his head when he saw Kanda's face and Lavi's reaction. He could tell something was wrong with his new friends, if you could call them that. Kanda looked like he was ready to explode, and yet he somehow managed to keep his anger in check. Lavi looked like he was waiting for a volcano to erupt, with a kind of scared fascination.

"What's wrong Kanda?" Allen asked, for some reason he was worried about the other teen.

"Nothing, I'm just really hungry, let's get a move on," was the only response he got. Allen knew it was a lie, something was bugging his blue haired friends, he wasn't going to push it, Allen didn't want Kanda exploding in the middle of the hallway. Allen was going to say something funny to thy and lighten the mood, but was interrupted by Lavi's proclamation that they'd made it to the cafeteria at last.

With that the group of three walked into the crowded lunch room.

**So what did you guys think? Please review, it would make me feel good to know what you all think.**

**So next chapter things start to heat up a bit, not too much but a bit, I honestly can't wait to finish the chapter so you all can read.**


	4. Chapter 4 Lunch and Other Awkward Moment

**A/N: So here's the next chapter, I'm sorry to inform you all that this chapter is all in Kanda's point of view, mainly because it was so freaking long (just over 2,000 words), but also because I haven't finished Allen's take on these turn of events.**

**Don't worry the next chapter will be out soon, and there will be nothing but Allen's thoughts and actions, promise.**

**With that I thank you for reading, and hope you enjoy the story.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own D. Gray Man or any of the characters.**

Chapter 4 Lunch and Other Awkward Moments

Kanda had always hated lunch, it was too loud and obnoxious. No one could manage to shut up and the constant chatter grated on his already frayed nerves. Allen and Lavi were chatting in the background, adding to Kanda's annoyance. Allen let out another laugh, and Kanda found himself enjoying the sound. It was like tinkling bells that rang in a gentle breeze, soft but subtle. Why couldn't he make the sprout laugh like that?

Kanda shook his head roughly, he would not think those kinds of thoughts, all laughter was annoying and stupid, even the sprouts. Kanda walked over to Jerry the cook, who already had his lunch ready, he always ate the same thing every day. Kanda walked over to a secluded table in the corner, knowing that the red head and Allen would be over as soon as Jerry finished cooking their food.

As he started eating his Soba noodles he noticed girl with green pig tails walking over to where Lavi and Allen were standing. Kanda knew the girl, thinking back he tried to remember her name. Lenalee, one of Lavi's annoying friends, she was probably going to join them for lunch, like she did every other day. The other three teens started to chat, and Allen was beaming at the other two like a lunatic. Kanda couldn't understand how anyone could be so happy hanging around with and annoying pair like them.

While he was waiting and no one was bugging him Kanda tried to calm himself, he didn't want to explode again, because next time he knew it would be worse. He sat there trying to ignore all of the voices that drifted around him in the crowded cafeteria, and just focus on this breathing and heartbeat. Meditation was a skill he had mastered at a young age, it was the only way to keep his anger under any type of control. After what he assumed was about ten minutes he was, more or less, in control of his anger. He silently wondered what was taking the sprout so long, Jerry was an impossibly fast cook and could make almost anything in the blink of an eye.

He got his answer when he saw Allen, Lavi and Lenalee walk towards his table. Allen's arms were loaded with food, much more than a sprout of his size could possibly eat. Lavi's and Lenalee's faces shared his disbelief as Allen laid the food on the table, covering more than half of the surface. Kanda looked from the sprout to all the food once again wondering how in the world the white haired teen was going to eat all of it.

Lavi and Lenalee sat down near Allen, pushing a few plates aside to make room for their own trays. Kanda just went back to eating his Soba, trying to ignore the impossible sight in front of him. It was then that Allen started to shovel food into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days, making the food disappear with alarming speed.

"That's gross Moyashi. How could you eat like that?" Kanda was getting really grossed out, although he didn't let it show.

The white haired teen stopped shoveling long enough to look sheepish and say, "Sorry, I didn't eat much for breakfast. I'm just really hungry." Allen slowed down his eating pace, apparently so he wouldn't offend Kanda, but he was still eating almost too fast to be humanly possible.

Kanda shrugged it off, if the sprout wanted to get sick from eating so fast it wasn't his fault. Going back to eating his Soba, he was able to finish without any further interruption, as everyone was too engrossed in their own food. Placing his empty plate on the table he took out the book he'd been reading for English. It wasn't particularly good, but it was something to take his mind off the sprout sitting next to him.

"Whatcha readin' Yuu?" Lavi broke into his reading as he curiously lifted the book to see the cover.

"None of your damn business, and I told you to stop calling me by my first name," Kanda growled at the red head, apparently he hadn't learned his lesson from before.

"Sorry Yuu, didn't mean to nose about in your business," Lavi taunted.

"What is wrong with you? You must have a death wish, either that or you're just stupid," Kanda had murder in his eyes, and this time he wasn't going to let Allen get in his way.

"Whatever Yuu, not like you could anything to me," Lavi had a malicious glint in his eye, showing he actually wanted a fight.

Kanda reached to his back, for the sword that was usually there. His hand connected with empty air and he cursed. He was in school, so his beloved Mugen wasn't with him, it was sitting in his apartment, waiting for his return home. Well good thing he knew how to fight without his sword.

Kanda flipped the table, trying to startle Lavi, sending plates and remaining food into the air, he then jumped at the very surprised red head. Little did he know the flying food would spark a food fight. As Kanda was busy trying to catch the red head, to punch his face in, he didn't at first notice the food flying around the room.

That was until he got hit in the face with some mashed potatoes. Kanda gave up trying to catch the other teen as he was pelted with food from all sides. After quickly ducking behind an upturned table Kanda examined the sight in front of him. The cafeteria was a mess, food flying everywhere, on the walls, on the tables and chairs, and some even ended up on the ceiling. The lunch room had divided itself into two 'teams', based on where you had been sitting prior to the fight. This meant that the jocks and cheerleaders that usually clustered together were on one side, while the rest of the students were on the other. It was obvious to Kanda that this wasn't much more than a simple food fight, the teachers would get it under control in a few minutes and that would be that.

Kanda felt he didn't need to get involved, coming to that conclusion he decided to wait it out, he'd find Lavi later and then beat the tar out of him. Not seeing much else to do Kanda lounged with his back against the table he was hiding behind, closing his eyes to try and meditate some more.

As he tried to drown out the sounds of the food fight he heard a loud crash right in front of him. Abruptly opening his eyes he saw the sprout stumbling around with spinach on his face. It seemed he had knocked into some chairs while trying to avoid the flying food. He looked absolutely terrified, eyes bulging as he avoided another food based projectile. Kanda smirked to himself, apparently the new student wasn't used to food fights, otherwise he wouldn't be standing up and making himself the perfect target of the onslaught of food.

Allen obviously noticed Kanda in his hiding place, because the kid was slowly making his way over to the other teen. Kanda watched as the white haired student avoided a pork chop to the face, only to slip on some mashed peas that had ended up on the floor.

The next couple of seconds seen to happen in slow motion, as Allen fell straight towards Kanda. Slipping on the peas, Allen had lost his balance, and fell smack into Kanda's lap. Kanda watched as the spouts butt landed right on his legs, while the rest of him fell into a heap on the older body's chest. Kanda gave a grunt from the force on the younger kid falling on top of him.

Sitting deathly still he looked down at the boy that had just so unceremoniously plopped into his lap. "Why did it have to be him?" Kanda thought as Allen slowly lifted his head off the long haired teen's chest, "I could deal with anyone but him." Whatever higher powers there were in the world really must hate him. Kanda closed his eyes and released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, knowing what he should do, and fully intending to go through with pulling the warm body off of his. However when he opened his eyes, he was met with a pair of lovely gray eyes, just inches from his. Kanda smirked as he watched a blush quickly cover the other boys face and neck. It was such an adorable shade of crimson, which was set off even more by the white hair and wide gray eyes.

All of his thoughts about being a good person and pushing the sprout away vanished as he looked into those soft gray orbs. Kanda couldn't seem to help himself, he gently brought his hand up to cup Allen's face, brushing away the spinach that still lingered near his mouth with a thumb. With the disgusting substance out of the way Kanda grabbed the younger boys chin and brought their faces even closer. Looking into his gray eyes Kanda could tell he was driving the kid mad with his slowness. Kanda smirked, finally closing the gap and bringing their lips together in a tentative kiss.

Allen froze for a second, shock clear in his wide gray eyes. Kanda smirked against the other teen's lips as he began to deepen the kiss, willing the other to react. It didn't take long for the sprout to snap out of his shocked state, and start kissing the older teen back. They pushed back and forth, fighting for dominance. Pulling Kanda's hair out of its usual ponytail Allen began to run his fingers thought the long silky raven locks. They finally had to pull away due to lack of oxygen, their breathing hard and uneven.

It was then that Kanda realized what he'd done. Oh shit, he just kissed the Moyashi, this could not be happening. He pulled away from Allen's face, gently pulling the other teen off of him, and placing said teen on the floor next to him.

They young samurai put his head in his hands. There was no way in hell that this was happening, it was impossible. Kanda had shut away that part of his heart after the last time, refusing to be hurt like that again. Kanda pulled himself out of his thoughts to look over at the white haired teen sitting next to him.

The Moyashi had one gloved hand raised to his mouth, his gray eyes reflecting his confused shock. Seeing Kanda staring at him, the boy blushed an even deeper shade of red then before, and it took all of Kanda's restraint not the kiss the boy again. Shaking his head he knew what he had to do, not just to protect himself but also to protect the sprout.

Forcing ice he didn't feel into his words Kanda growled, "That never happened. You will never speak to anyone about this ever, that is if you value your life." Kanda was so confused and angry, but he knew this was the best way to help the sprout. If Allen fell in love with him, it would only end badly for both of them.

"Bu… bu.. but…Kanda?" Allen stuttered, hurt clearly reflexed in his gorgeous gray eyes. Looking into those twin pools of confusion Kanda felt his heart slowly breaking. This was not how he wanted to push the other boy away, he had wanted to have a choice in how he rejected the boy. Kanda's plan to slowly let on that he wasn't interested was ruined, because now Allen knew he defiantly was interested. Because of his stupid actions, Kanda now had to hurt the adorable little sprout, or else face the consequences that loving someone caused.

"It never happened. Forget about it. Don't tell anyone do you understand?" Kanda put on his usual hard mask of coldness, and had turned his internal heart break into anger, a practice he had perfected over the years. Allen just nodded his head, "He's learning to be afraid of me," Kanda thought gruesomely. With Allen's confirmation Kanda stormed away from the scene, not worrying about the flying food as he easily dodged every piece that was thrown at him.

Kanda really hated lunch.

**So things just got a little interesting didn't they. Once again Allen's take upon these events will be out in the next chapter (as soon as I find the time to type them out).**

**Quick little blurb to DisBeetch, Lenalee will be properly introduced in the next chapter, I however will not be hating on her because I'm not that type of person. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.**

**Thanks again for reading and don't forget to review.**


	5. Chapter 5 The Best Time of The Day

**A/N: So here is chapter 5, all in Allen's point of view as promised. Sorry it took me a while to update, life tends to get in the way of my writing. Anyway enjoy it, the next chapter will be up as soon as I can get it written, (not sure when that'll be).**

**Yeah I finally got over ten reviews, *jumps up and down* Keep them coming, trust me most of them do help me when I'm writing.**

**Thanks for reading and enjoy this fine chapter.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray Man or any of the characters portrayed in this fanfiction.**

Chapter 5 The Best Time of The Day

Allen was starving, thank goodness it was lunch time. Lunch had always been his favorite hour, mainly because he got to eat, which was a good thing, he got irritable when he was hungry. He followed Lavi and Kanda into the full cafeteria, his mouth beginning to water uncontrollably at the smell of all the food. The group walked over to the window to order, strolling past people already enjoying their food.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a bus filled with cheese," Lavi commented sending Allen into a quick fit of giggles.

"Lavi you know that eating a bus would be unhealthy. Not to mention all the cheese would be bad for you," Allen reprimanded his red head friend.

Finally making it to the window, Allen noticed as Kanda just walked up to the window and took an already prepared tray. Allen chuckled to himself, it was just like the older teen to eat the same thing every day. He watched as Lavi sauntered up to the window and ordered a hamburger with cheese and bacon, fries on the side. The man behind the window, who Allen assumed was Jerry, smiled broadly as he began preparing the food.

"What are you waiting for Allen? Go and order whatever you want, doesn't worry Jerry can make anything," Lavi pushed Allen up to the window where he stood fidgeting.

"What'll it be hon?" the man behind the window questioned. Allen took a deep breath, and began listing foods so fast that Jerry had to stop what he was doing to catch the order. When Allen finished he took another deep breath.

"Looks like you have quiet the appetite. Your food will be ready in five minutes," Jerry said from behind the window.

Lavi, who hadn't stared at Allen's scar or gloves, was gapping at the white haired teen. Allen sighed, he'd gotten used to this kind of reaction to his eating habits. No one could ever manage to believe someone as small as him could eat so much. Allen gave a mental shrug, soon Lavi would see that Allen could indeed eat all the food he had ordered.

Looking around the cafeteria Allen noticed a girl with green pigtails, walking their way. "This must be Lavi's friend," Allen thought, "What was her name? Lanalin, Linalee, something like that." The girl had finally made it to where the pair were standing, bringing Allen out of his thoughts.

"Hi Lavi, who's this?" the girl asked pointing to Allen kind of rudely.

Lavi gave the girl a smile, "This is Allen Walker, and he's new. Allen this is Lenalee Lee."

"So that's what her name was," Allen thought as he shook her hand in introduction.

"Nice to meet you," he said trying to be friendly, but only sounding more awkward.

Just like Lavi had she jumped straight to the question he hated, "How'd you get that scar on your face?"

"Bike accident," he said, once again using his quickly thought up lie. Just like Lavi, the girl in front of him didn't seem to believe it, but she didn't push further, only giving him a smile, which he was quick to return.

Just then the bell rang signaling that their food was ready. Allen picked up his trays, balancing all the food with an ease that only years of practice could give him. He started walking towards the table where Kanda was sitting, a secluded table in the corner. The long haired teen had his eyes closed, thinking about something, which allowed Allen time to study the other teens face without getting caught.

All Allen wanted to do was stroke the graceful face, and run his fingers through the soft silky hair of the other teen. He momentarily wondered what kissing Kanda would be like. The older teen's lips looked strong and smooth, almost begging to be kissed.

Allen was abruptly brought out of his thoughts when Kanda opened his eyes. Although still pretty far away, Allen quickly looked away, hoping the other teen didn't notice his staring, or the blush that was slowly creeping up his neck. Walking over to the table he laid all his food down, looking up to see Kanda's reaction, which was a quick look of disbelief. The look was squelched when the blue haired teen put on his mask of anger again. Allen smirked inwardly, he'd finally managed to surprise the older teen, which, considering it was Kanda who never showed any emotion, was a feat.

Sitting down the white haired teen noticed as Lavi and Lenalee sat down, gently moving food out of the way in order to put down their own trays. That's when Allen started eating, which was very messy. He didn't know why he ate so quickly, it was just something he'd done since childhood. He could manage to eat slowly, if he really thought about it, but usually his hunger won out over his manners.

Allen stopped shoveling food into his mouth long enough to take a breath and see the looks on his new friends faces. Lavi looked almost impressed at Allen eating speed, which was a common reaction among the guys who had witnessed his eating habits. Lenalee looked kind of grossed out, but didn't say anything about it, she didn't seem to want to offend the boy.

Then there was Kanda, his beautiful face was exactly the same, a cold mask of indifference, but his eyes said everything. Looking into those gorgeous pools of blue Allen could tell that the other teen was disgusted, and his thoughts were confirmed when Kanda spoke.

"That's gross Moyashi. How could you eat like that?" The words practically dripped with disgust, which made Allen's heart drop into the pit of his stomach. He didn't understand why Kanda's opinion mattered so much to him, Kanda was just like everyone else, and therefore his reaction shouldn't matter. Even rationalizing it this way Allen still mumbled a reply, and starting eating slower, which seemed to appease the other teen.

After almost inhaling another five dishes Allen looked up to see Kanda reading, while the other two ate their food in silence, marking it off as nothing special he continued eating. After three more he looked up again to see Lavi taunting a very angry Kanda, which seemed to be what they did on a regular basis, so Allen shrugged it off.

Just when he was about to start in on a delicious fish with wild rice dish, Kanda seemed to explode once again, only this time he flipped the table, sending all of Allen's empty plates and uneaten food into the air. The food landed on unsuspecting students closest to the table, which had quite a few teens angry and ready for a fight.

What happened next was kind of a blur. There was a silent moment when everyone was surprised to find food on their cloths or faces, then the kids that got hit stood up and started searching for the person that had started it. They finally deduced it was Allen's table, mainly by and enraged Kanda, and the table on its side. They didn't waste any time, picking up some of their own food and flinging it in the offenders' general direction. This cause more kids to get hit by food until basically the whole cafeteria was involved in a massive food fight.

Allen watched as Kanda chased after Lavi, most likely trying to catch the red head and pound his face in. With the other teens gone, Allen was alone with Lenalee, but when he turned around to look for the girl she wasn't anywhere to be found. He started to panic, he didn't know anyone, other than the teens that had just left him, and he'd never been in a food fight before. All those fights at other schools, and not one of them had been food related, this was really bad.

Allen stood up, not knowing this would make him and even bigger target for the flying food. He had to find one of his new friends, he didn't really know much about where he was, and was starting to get worried. What if something happened to him, he'd never been very good on his own, especially not on the first day of a new school. With that in mind he set off through the cafeteria in search for someone who knew what they were doing, and could help avoid any conflicts that would surly spring up. His first thought was of Kanda, there was no way anyone would try anything with that angry teen around, as proven by the fact that he started a food fight just by flipping a table.

Seeing as Allen had never been in a food fight before, he was hopeless when it came to dodging flying food, and was soon plastered from head to toe with various food items. Finally making it to the other side of the large room, Allen rested against a wall, trying to catch his breath after attempting to avoid the food. Standing there he got hit in the face by some kind of green mush, covering his eyes for a moment, and causing him to run into a group of chairs.

Wiping the nasty substance, which he realized was spinach, out of his eyes, Allen saw Kanda sitting behind an upturned table. Making his way over to where Kanda was sitting, Allen tried to avoid flying food, only to fail miserably. Covered in ketchup, lettuce, sliced peaches, and hamburger bun, Allen finally managed to avoid a pork chop to the face, only to slip on some mashed peas and fall, straight into Kanda.

Allen closed his eyes, and felt himself fall into someone's warm lap. His eyes snapped open when his head bumped into Kanda's well-muscled chest, falling to rest just below the other teen's collar bone. Allen froze of a moment, not knowing what the blue haired teen would do. He was surprised when there was no reaction from the teen and lifted his head quizzically.

His gray eyes were met by a pair of startling cobalt, and he felt himself fall into those clear pools of blue. He once again thought about what kissing Kanda would be like, and felt a blush creep up his neck and onto his cheeks. He saw Kanda smirk at the blush, which only made it worse Allen could feel himself go beet red, especially when Kanda reached up to cup the whited haired teen's face. It took all of Allen's self-control to stay absolutely still and not lean into the strong hand.

This should not be happening, he should not be allowing this to happen, but the touch felt so cool against his hot skin. This was not a good idea, and Allen knew it, if they developed anything other than friendship, it would lead to questions, questions he didn't want to answer. He knew that he should push Kanda away, but the retort died in his throat when a soft thumb brushed against his lips. Allen felt the spinach being pushed off his lips, and looking into Kanda's eyes Allen could tell that the blue haired teen was enjoying this.

Allen's chin was grabbed by a strong pair of fingers, slowly pulling his face towards Kanda's waiting lips. The older teen was driving him crazy, Allen's body was burning up, and only Kanda's cool touch seemed to stop the fire. Allen tried to get his thoughts in some kind of order, but that's when the other teen decided to close the gap, bringing their lips together in a kiss.

Allen tensed up, oh shit this was not supposed to be happening, he should not be kissing anyone, let alone Kanda. He didn't want his past to hurt anyone else, but Kanda's lips were so strong and cool. When the blue haired teen began deepening the kiss Allen did nothing to stop him, actually enjoying the feeling of Kanda's lips on his.

Without meaning to Allen began to kiss back, loosing himself to the pleasure. His hands went to Kanda's neck, draping themselves over broad shoulders as his fingers began to undo the hair tie that was holding the gorgeous blue hair in its ponytail. He finally got it free as they fought for dominance, and Allen began to sift through the silky raven tresses. Kanda's hair really was beautiful, fine, but strong, slippery, and yet easy to grasp.

Suppressing a moan as Kanda pulled away, Allen looked into the eyes of the long haired teen. Within their depths Allen saw a war waging, disbelief coupled with yearning battled against fear and common sense. Watching Kanda's eyes as he was Allen barely noticed when he was picked up of the older teen's lap, and placed back on the floor.

Allen stared at Kanda as the other teen placed his face in his hands. Watching as hair flowed around him like dark blue water. "_What just happened?_" Allen asked himself, _"Did I…. just… kiss…. Kanda?"_ He lifted a hand to his lips, brushing against the now bruised skin, trying to prove to himself that it had actually happened. _"This is not good, oh shit, this is not good,"_ the phrase kept repeating itself in Allen's subconscious. He knew that his inner voice was right, but his rational mind had left him for a moment, leaving him wanting more of Kanda's touches, and kisses.

He watched as Kanda looked up at him, his face blushing again at his thoughts. Then he saw the look in Kanda's eyes and he froze. In those twin pools of blue there was confusion and anger, but Allen couldn't understand where they had come from, he hadn't done anything wrong had he? Then Kanda spoke, the words didn't sink in, but the ice in his voice was all Allen needed to hear to know that Kanda didn't want him. Allen felt tears begin to spring to his eyes, but he held them back, not wanting to look weak in front of the other teen. However he couldn't help to tremble in his voice as he began to ask why. He was cut off again by a strong voice, the words finally reaching him.

"It never happened. Forget about it. Don't tell anyone, do you understand?" It was Kanda's voice, but then again it wasn't, there was too much hurt, too much emotion for it to be Kanda. Allen just nodded his head, not trusting his voice. Just before the other teen walked away, he finally saw it, a flicker of hope in the other boy's eyes, through the anger, pain and hurt, there was a small flame of hope. Allen could only guess that it was hope he wouldn't listen, hope that he'd try again, try and make something out of what had just happened. It wasn't much to go on, but he decided it was enough to get him through this, there was hope for a relationship with Kanda, maybe.

As Kanda stormed off Allen sat there, riding out the emotional current that was flooding through him. As long as he had some belief in himself, then maybe, just maybe he could get through this, with Kanda by his side. Allen looked down at his hands, he belatedly noticed that one still held Kanda's hair tie. It was too late to give it back now, so Allen slipped in onto his wrist, pulling his glove over the small circle. It would be a reminder, of what had happened, and a promise for what was to come.

Allen smiled broadly, lunch had always been his favorite hour.

**So there you have it chapter 5. Like I said before I will try and post the next chapter soon, but life is an interesting thing, so I'm not sure when that will be.**

**Thanks again for reading, please leave your reviews, I would love hearing from you.**


	6. Chapter 6 Cooling Off

**A/N: So here's the next chapter, it's an interesting one, more of a transition then anything.**

**Hope you enjoy, and please review.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters used in this story.**

Chapter 6 Cooling Off

As Kanda walked away he felt his heart clench. Pushing people away had become something of a habit, but with Allen it was totally different. He couldn't manage to walk away from the boy without feeling like his heart was being torn out. Kanda shook his head, this was not good, he needed to get away, somewhere that no one would bother him so he could think and sort out what was happening to him.

Making his way out of the cafeteria, he found Lavi snickering in the hallway, while Lenalee stood with Principal Lee.

"We need to get this under control, and fast," her pleas were falling on deaf ears however, because the principal looked scared out of his mind. Kanda couldn't care less, he was out of the food fight, and there for it wasn't his problem anymore.

As he walked off, he was stopped by Lavi, who had pushed himself off the lockers with a sneer, "Nice job starting the food fight, Yu." Kanda had had enough of the annoying brat, the red head was always messing with him, sending his anger levels well past normal.

"I've had just about enough of you," Kanda pushed Lavi into a wall, cutting off the teen's air supply with one arm. Bringing his other arm up quickly, he finally punched the annoying teen in the face. Letting him slide down the wall, Kanda watched with a smug satisfaction as the red head's nose began to bleed.

With that Kanda turned on his heel and left, his anger finally sated, but now that his anger was gone, he began to get even more confused. Other emotions started flooding into the place his anger once held, and he wasn't used to dealing with so much at one time. He made his way to the one place no one would look for him, the roof. He'd found the ladder up to the roof of the school his freshman year. He'd been hiding in a janitor's closet trying to calm himself down after beating up an upperclassman for calling him a girl.

He'd been really impulsive in his first year of high school, and would get angry over the smallest things. He was still short tempered, but now he resorted to violence much less, preferring to just let his anger roll off him in waves, daring anyone to push him further. Let's just say the roof had become something of a sanctuary for Kanda, it was the one place that no one bothered him.

Thinking about it he smirked, remembering the time when a janitor had found him up there, cooling down after almost getting in a fight with some cocky freshmen after school. The janitor was surprised, and hauled Kanda to the principal's office, where he was reprimanded, because it was 'unsafe'. The conversation had been an interesting one, but in the end Kanda was able to explain that he needed a place with peace and quiet, or else there would be far more fights and broken bones. In the end Kanda got his way, getting a key to the now padlocked roof hatch.

Making his way to the closet he opened the door and fished around in his backpack until his hand finally found the key. Climbing up the ladder he unlocked the hatch and let it swing open. It didn't make any sound as it swung, proving that it was used often by the moody teen. Kanda let himself relax a bit while taking in a lungful of outside air. Sitting down on the roofs surface he finally allowed himself to feel all the emotions running through him. Dealing with them one at a time, he organized his thoughts until he had some kind of control.

He dealt with the hurt first, knowing it had to do with leaving the Moyashi like that. Being cold and distant to the white haired boy hurt him, not physically, but mentally. Once he understood that feeling a little better, he went on to the next one, which was guilt. He felt strangely guilty for pushing the other teen away, without explain why he had to do it. Kanda made up his mind to at least explain himself to the sprout, hoping the other would understand why things between them weren't possible.

He tried to understand his confusion last, figuring out his feelings for the new kid, even though he may try and deny them. Sadly he couldn't ignore them anymore, and it had only been a few hours since he'd met the guy. What had happened to make him feel like this, he didn't know, all he knew was that in the few hours that he'd known the sprout, he'd fallen in love. Putting his head in his hands he finally admitted it, he was in love with none other than Allen Walker, the new kid, and had no idea how to deal with it. This was the root of his problems, and by admitting to it everything else finally started to make some sense. The need to touch Allen, and make contact with his milky white skin, the pull the sprouts eyes seemed to have, and even the rash actions of a few minutes prior, when he'd kissed the other teen.

He thought back to the kiss, now that he'd admitted he loved the sprout, he could finally analyze the kiss without feeling stupid. It had been amazing, everything Kanda had ever wanted from something as simple as a kiss. However thinking back, he realized that something had been off about it. There was an unidentified spark between them, something Kanda knew wasn't supposed to be there. It had felt weird, almost alien, and unless he really thought, as he was doing now, he probably wouldn't have noticed it.

Kanda tried to shake it away, these kinds of thoughts were dangerous, mainly because the last time he'd fallen in love with anyone it had ended badly, and even after two years he still hadn't healed. He would just have to hope it didn't happen again, because if it did he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Giving a sad smile Kanda leaned back and remembered. He remembered his first love, the one that he'd been dragged through hell and back for, only to have it ended just as things were finally working out. The name of his first lover kept ringing in his ears, almost drowning out his new found love with its sorrow.

"Alma."

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen's smile began to slide off his face as Kanda walked farther and farther away. He thought about the kiss, so amazing and sweet he could almost taste it on his lips. He could also feel the faint buzz left from the brief moment of electricity that had coursed through his system. This could not be happening, the spark seemed to be enough proof, but there was always the possibility he'd imaged it, which could mean one of two things, Kanda was either 'the one', or Allen was just getting really desperate. He leaned back on the table, this wasn't supposed to be easy, but it was getting to be too much. Why couldn't he manage to find his other half, despite years of searching? Then again every time he would finally find someone who might be it, they showed up.

The group called themselves the Noah, a terrifying collection of people who wanted the Earth to end. They looked completely normal, but Allen knew that they had the power to kill by just snapping their fingers, and they wouldn't hesitate to destroy anyone who got in their way. Which is what had almost happened to Allen when they found him two years ago at a school in France, he'd been able to escape, but barely, and in addition to all of his other problems he now had to avoid them at all costs. Even doing that Allen hadn't been able to stay hidden for long, they always showed up just as he was finally getting somewhere, causing him to have to move, again.

Allen shook the thoughts away, he needed to find Kanda and sort this all out before the Noah found him. He didn't want to think about what would happen to Kanda if the Noah did find him, he'd probably end up dead, just like everyone else who managed to get close to Allen. He stood up, anxious to find Kanda as soon as humanly possible, barely noticing that the food had stopped flying, and cleanup had begun. Watching Principal Lee usher students out of the cafeteria he realized he had no idea where Kanda might be, which was a bit of a problem.

He spotted Lenalee, who was instructing the janitors on how to clean the room, and finding that this was probably his best option to find Kanda he started to walk over to the girl. As he made his way over to Lenalee, Allen noticed the devastation brought out by the food fight. There was food everywhere, on the floor, on the tables and chairs, and even on the walls and ceiling. The upturned tables and food splattered papers only added to the mess, making clean up seem impossible before the next hour.

When he walked up to the girl she was mumbling something about how this needs to stop happening so often. He gently tapped her shoulder pulling her from her thoughts, and gave her a smile.

"Sorry about this, you must think our school is filled with unruly savages," she gave him a weak smile.

"Not at all, that was my first food fight. I found it…. exciting," he pulling on his mask of politeness, trying not to offend the poor girl.

"Well it certainly was interesting. Would you like to clean up a bit? You're covered in food," she handed him a damp towel, and gestured to his food covered form.

"Yeah I guess you right," he took a look at himself for the first time since the food fights conclusion, finding that there really wasn't any part of him that wasn't covered in food. He took the towel and wiped off his face, then set about getting all the extra food off his cloths. He listened to Lenalee babble about various food fights they'd had over the years, stating this wasn't the worst, but it was still very messy. His ears perked at the sound of Kanda's name, and he began listening with new interest.

"… And for some reason Kanda always seems to be the cause, especially after…." she trailed off, looking away from Allen.

"What happened?" Allen asked gently, trying to gather some kind of information about the mysterious teen.

"I really shouldn't talk about it," she looked around nervously, trying to make sure Kanda wasn't in hearing distance by the look of it.

Seeing that no one was around she continued, "I shouldn't talk about it, but you should at least know something. It was a couple of years ago, but Kanda could never get over it, there was this student and well," she was cut off by the principal running up and hugging her.

"Oh my darling Lenalee, thank you so much for your help cleaning up. I can always count on you," he doted over her, surprising Allen with his actions.

"Get off me brother, you're an embarrassment, both to yourself and the school," she pushed him off, patting off her outfit. "Well that explained that random outburst, kind of," Allen thought giving her a sympathetic smile that wasn't totally fake.

"So about that student," he prodded her along, hoping she would divulge some kind of useful information.

"Well his name was Alma Karma, and two years ago he…. died," she said looking haunted by the memory. Allen wanted to ask for more information, but that's when Lavi showed up, nose bleeding, with a stupid grin on his face.

"What happened to your face?" Lenalee asked shocked. She grabbed the towel from Allen's hand and placed it to the red head's nose.

"Nothing much, Kanda finally snapped and punched me. Honestly I did kind of deserve it," he said, pushing the towel to his nose to try and slow the bleeding.

"You're going to the nurse, now," Lenalee began to pull Lavi in that direction, looking relieved that she didn't have to tell Allen anything more.

Once they left Allen felt frustrated, he was so close to learning something, only to have it slip away again. It was then that he had an idea, all he needed to do was find a computer. The library was his first thought, but he didn't know where it was, so he had to ask a group of students that kept staring at him like he was a freak show. They pointed him in the right direction, and he followed their instructions until he came upon the double doors that lead into the library.

As he walked in the librarian looked disapproving, but still asked politely, "Hello what can I help you with?"

Allen plastered on a smile and quickly responded, "I need a computer, where's one that I can use?"

She looked him over again, then sighed and pointed him to a group of tables with computers on them. He rushed over to the computers, turning one on and waiting impatiently for it to load. When it finally finished he opened an internet browser right away, typing in the key words that Lenalee had inadvertently given him.

He scrolled around looking for information, which is when he found the article. He clicked on it and a newspaper article came into view.

The title read "Student Commits Suicide in School".

**A/N: So there you have it, the transition chapter, where nothing really happens but there are now a whole bunch of questions that need to be answered.**

**I had to add in something about Kanda and Alma, mainly because my friends keep trying to convince me they're meant for each other (in an attempt to squelch my unhealthy love of Kanda no doubt). Either way, in the next chapter we'll get to see Kanda's past, which will be probably have Kanda totally out of character, and will probably make me cry while writing it.**

**Thanks again for reading, I'll have the next chapter up soon. Please review and tell me what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7 Kanda's Past

**A/N: Here you have it the wonderful chapter explaining Kanda's past. This is basically all in Kanda's point of view (It is his past after all), and explains what happened between Kanda and Alma that made Kanda such a cold hearted jerk (I hope). I do have to warn you Kanda is extremely out of character (I kinda had to do that in order for you guys to understand what I was going for), and I apologize in advance if you don't like the way I've twisted him to fit my needs as a writer.**

**I would also like to warn you of the suicide seen I wrote up, it's not terribly graphic, but it is really sad and depressing, so I don't advise reading it if your faint of heart. It's during the flash back so I will do a quick summary of said flashback at the end for those of you who don't want to read it.**

**Thanks for all the loyal support, and enjoy reading.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters… *sigh* :'(**

Chapter 7 Kanda's Past

"Alma."

The name kept ringing in the back of his mind, causing Kanda to double over in pain at the memories.

They'd been enemies in the beginning, Alma's excited personality clashed terribly with his own anger driven coldness. In middle school they had gotten into so many fights, in and outside of school, that there wasn't a day when one of them wasn't bruised or cut up. The teachers put them as far apart from each other as possible, which did nothing to stop the fights, and when they got detention for fighting in class they had to be put in separate rooms, or else they would start a fight in detention as well.

Then they hit high school, and as freshmen they were both the subject of the upperclassmen's attention, frequently getting into "disagreements". One day they'd been bickering in the hallway, exchanging insults like they'd done so many times before, when a couple of the larger seniors walked up, wanting to cause trouble. The pair was out numbered, there were six of the behemoths, and neither one of them could take the huge seniors alone. So they struck an almost silent agreement, they would fight together, and hopefully not get beaten to a blood pulp. As far as the fight went Alma and Kanda had landed up on top, not without a few cuts and bruises, not to mention a whole week's worth of detentions.

The school couldn't find an extra teacher to watch another detention room so they were stuck with each other, not that they minded. Kanda began to admire Alma's strength, which wasn't as substantial as his own, but Alma had proved himself when they fought together. Alma on the other hand was just happy to have finally made Kanda one of his friends. Throughout that week they began to understand each other better, even going far enough to be able to call themselves best friends. Much to everyone's surprise they started getting along, even sitting together and joking around during lunch.

It was during one of these lunches that Alma confessed, he'd apparently had a crush on Kanda for years, but never acted on it because of the vibes of hatred the other teen exhibited. The confession freaked Kanda out a little bit, he wasn't a homophobe, but by no means was he gay, or at least he thought he wasn't. Not knowing what else to do he ran away to his sanctuary, the roof, to try and understand what was going on. At first he denied any feelings he had towards Alma, even going as far as to avoid the other boy. Then one day, while sitting up on his roof, watching the clouds roll by, Kanda finally came to the realization that he actually loved Alma, despite the other teen's obnoxiously annoying personality.

He went off in search of Alma and found him crying in the bathroom, a knife to his wrist. Kanda threw away the knife and hugged the other teen, cooing words to calm him, and eventually admitting his love. Alma had an almost complete mood change when those words were uttered, the tears of sadness becoming tears of joy within a second. Alma had made Kanda promise to not tell anyone about the attempted suicide, telling him that now that they were together he wouldn't think about doing anything like that to himself. Kanda had believed him, not wanting to hurt the others feelings, but there was always the nagging doubt in the back of his mind.

The memories warped into thoughts of the love they'd shared. The first six months had been amazing, they'd held hands walking to class rooms, shared kisses almost everywhere, and Kanda had even shown the other teen his secret sanctuary. Sure there had been some crude remarks from the school's homophobes, but they got through it together, leaning on each other for strength. The second six months got steadily worse, the snide comments were coming more often, and Alma kept getting more and more depressed. They would have some seriously hot make out sessions at either of their houses, and Alma always wanted to go farther than just kissing, but Kanda never felt ready, insisting that it wasn't the right time.

Maybe if he'd said yes to Alma's advances, maybe if he'd been stronger at dealing with the homophobic attitudes of his classmates, maybe if he'd tried harder, maybe Alma would still be alive.

Kanda didn't know when he started crying, but the tears began to stream down his face, tracking down his chin to fall into his hands. It was his fault Alma was dead, he hadn't been there when Alma had needed him, he'd failed his best friend. He remembered the day like it was yesterday, a constant reminder of his failure to save the one he loved.

_Flashback_

_Tuesdays had always been so annoying, bleak and terrible, they outweighed Mondays by quite a lot in Kanda's mind. Walking out of gym class with a self-satisfied smirk on his face he looked around for Alma, who was usually there, so they could walk to lunch together. Not seeing the other teen he shrugged it off, assuming that Alma had to talk to a teacher or something after class. When he got to the lunch room he got his Soba and sat at their usual table with a couple of other people. Kanda finished his Soba and looked around the cafeteria, wondering what could be holding up Alma for so long._

_By the end of the hour a cold fingers of dread had spiked their way into his heart, making it clench in fear. He had to find Alma, he could tell something bad was happening, but he didn't know what it was. He walked to the class that Alma had before lunch, and asked the teacher if Alma had staid after to talk about something. The teacher said no, Alma had apparently left the class early, saying that he was feeling sick and need to go to the nurse's office. Kanda felt the dread lessen slightly, it was the only logical explanation for why Alma hadn't been at lunch, but Kanda couldn't push away the nagging feeling in the back of his mind._

_He went to the nurse's office, fully expecting Alma to be propped up on one of the beds, resting or barfing his guts out, but when he got there no one was in any of the beds. He asked the nurse if Alma had been there, and when she said no the dread returned, worse than before. The sound of rushing water filled his ears and he felt himself almost black out. He grabbed at the counter, barely managing to stay upright while the nurse flew from around the desk and led him to a bed. Kanda collapsed, he needed to find Alma now, no one else knew about his depression, or understood the other teen the way Kanda did._

_The nurse had wanted him to stay in her office, at least until he was feeling better, but Kanda stormed out, knowing that he wouldn't feel better until Alma was safe in his arms. He blew off the next hour while he searched the school for his lover, and best friend. When he finally found Alma, Kanda didn't want to believe his eyes._

_Alma was in a bathroom in the basement of the school, leaning against a wall, twin streams of blood seeping from his slashed wrists. The knife was lying on the floor covered in blood, crimson dripping off the blade. Kanda raced over and threw the knife away, but the damage had already been done. Kanda raced into the hallway and screamed for help, but no one was there, the basement was deserted. He raced back to Alma's side, bringing the boys head up so they looked eye to eye._

"_Why did you do this?" he practically whispered to the boy on the floor, wanting to understand where he'd gone wrong._

"_Too…. much….. pain," the other boy whispered out, beginning to close his eyes._

"_What are you talking about? You love life, you're always annoyingly happy and bubbly. What happened to the Alma I used to know?" Kanda started to cry on the last word, knowing that the broken boy in front of him wasn't the one he'd fallen in love with almost a year ago._

"_You…. happened….. Yuu," Alma said a smile ghosting across his lips, "You… could… come…. with…. me…," he looked into Kanda's eyes just before his own eyes fluttered shut and his breathing stopped._

"_Alma," Kanda's voice broke as his body erupted into sobs. He cradled the boy in his arms, never wanting to let go of the person who had meant so much to him. After about an hour Kanda had calmed down to the point where Alma's last words finally sunk in. It was his fault, Alma had blamed him for everything and nothing was ever going to be able to change that._

_Kanda looked at the knife lying on the ground a few feet from where he sat, wondering if it he should join his lover, just to end the pain. He picked up the knife, and brought it to his wrist, willing himself to cut open his arm the way Alma had done, but he couldn't manage to do it. There wasn't much for him to live for anymore, but something had stopped him, some unconscious thought that stilled his hand._

_He threw the knife away, disgusted with himself for even thinking of taking his own life, when he looked back to Alma. Someone needed to tell the staff that there was a dead boy in the bathroom, and considering no one ever came down to that part of the school it would have to be him. Standing up on shaking legs he took one last look at the poor, broken boy he used to know, wishing things could've been different, and hating himself for not being able to stop what had happened._

_He walked to the nurse's office, and when the nurse saw him covered in blood she checked his body to make sure there were no cuts._

"_It's not mine," Kanda told her, his voice completely lacking emotion. When she looked puzzled he told her about the boy in the downstairs bathroom, telling her she should probably call the police. She left in a hurry, going to make sure he was telling the truth, but why wouldn't he be? His best friend had just killed himself, and she needed to make sure? Nothing made sense anymore, Kanda just sat down on one of the beds, exhausted and hating himself._

_End Flashback_

That had been two years ago, and Kanda had hated himself every day for what he'd done to the boy he'd loved. Despite so many people telling him it wasn't his fault, he took the blame unto himself, knowing that if he'd just done something, anything, differently the boy who'd been his everything would still be here. He'd gone to the grief counseling, telling them he was fine, that everything was okay. He tuned out when people told him Alma had been mentally ill, that wasn't the Alma he had known. Kanda denied everything he'd been told, because it wasn't Alma's fault it was his.

Kanda started sobbing, knowing that if he didn't pull himself out soon, he'd be stuck wallowing in his grief. However he couldn't manage to let it go, constant thoughts of Allen, and what might happen to him clouded his mind. Would Allen turn into another Alma, someone he couldn't protect from the hurt and pain? Someone he couldn't manage to understand before it was too late? Someone who would love him, and receive his love, only to leave?

He pulled at his hair in anguish, two thoughts on his mind, "What is wrong with me?" and "Why does love hurt so much?"

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen read the article his heart sinking at the thought of going through an experience like that. There were no names given, besides that of the kid who'd killed himself, but Allen was almost certain it had been Kanda who found the body. The article had also said something about Alma having a boyfriend, which Allen could only assume was Kanda, just based on his previous conversation with Lenalee.

Rereading the article Allen knew he could never understand Kanda's pain fully. Seeing your first love bleed to death after slitting his own wrists could not have been easy, but it explained Kanda's coldness and short temper. It also explained Kanda's reaction to the kiss they had shared, why he'd been so quick to push Allen away, why he'd looked so angry, not at Allen but at himself.

"Kanda must blame himself for what happened to Alma," Allen thought, "It explains everything."

Finally understanding this he turned off the computer and practically raced out of the library, thanking the librarian for her help as he speed towards the door. Allen didn't know where he was going, but he needed to find Kanda, and he trusted that his feet would take him to the other teen. Sprinting through a hallway in what he assumed was the English wing he abruptly stopped.

There was a door opened a crack, that led to a janitors closet. When Allen opened the door fully he saw a ladder leading up to what he thought was the roof. Looking up he noticed that the hatch to the roof was opened, sunlight streaming down through the hole to rest on his face. He made his way to the bottom of the ladder and took a deep breath before climbing up, not knowing what he would find at the top.

**A/N: So for those of you who didn't read the chapter here's the quick summary I promised. **

**Long story short, in the flashback Alma kills himself and Kanda blames himself for Alma's death, even though he really couldn't have done anything to stop it. (I know it's really convoluted, but that's just the way I envisioned it so)**

**Anyway thanks again for reading, in the next chapter you'll get to see some of Allen's past. I'll explain the whole Noah thing (I hope), and probably throw some of you for a very interesting loop.**

**Please review and tell me what you all thought. I actually liked writing this chapter a lot, even though it was really depressing.**


	8. Chapter 8 The Truth

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, but I have to say I'm actually pretty happy with this chapter. My excuse for not posting it sooner was my internal battle about whether or not to add this crazy plot twist in or not. Well the side of me that makes little to no sense won out so I added it in. The original idea for it came at the same time as my Alma suicide epiphany, but I wasn't sure what to do with it until after I'd finished last chapter.**

**Sorry about my excuses (I know they're pretty lame), but it was really a challenge to figure out where this story was going. In addition I would like to also apologize for any out of characterness that may occur during this chapter, once again I twisted Kanda's character to fit my needs. I would also like you warn you about the swearing, I blame Kanda's character and the fact that watering down the swear words just doesn't fit his persona.**

**Thanks again for reading, hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review and tell me what you think about my insane plot twist.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters.**

Chapter 8 The Truth

Kanda curled himself into a ball, allowing the sobs to rack his body as he cried his heart out. Why did Alma kill himself, and why hadn't he been able to save his best friend? He knew there were no answers to the questions, so he accepted the one his mind had conjured up. He was to blame for everything. He'd made peace with that fact long ago, but the questions still remained, popping up when he least wanted them to.

He was so absorbed in his self-loathing that he didn't notice as another figure joined him on the roof. After five minutes the shaking had gotten worse, and raw convulsions of pain coursed through his body. He finally took notice of the other person when he felt a small body press against his own. Thin arms wrapped around his torso, slowing his shudders, while feathery hair brushed against his face, drawing his attention.

He pulled his head up, his tear filled eyes meeting a pair of concerned gray ones.

"It wasn't your fault," the white haired boy's voice resonated through the silence, startling Kanda with its conviction. "I don't know what you've been telling yourself, but what happened wasn't your fault."

Kanda stared at the boy hugging him, not knowing what to say or think. He sat shell shocked for a moment, before the anger set in once again. Just like all of those people after it had happened, this boy was trying to convince him it wasn't his fault, and just like all of those people the boy had no idea what he was talking about. Kanda had killed Alma, that's all there was too it. Alma had blamed him, so why shouldn't he blame himself?

"Get off me Moyashi," he snarled out, pushing the boy off him and standing up, letting the rage mask the pain. The other boy just sat where he'd been thrown, staring at the roof, not moving or saying a word.

After a few minutes Kanda finally broke, "Aren't you going to say something? You come up here trying to tell me that it's not my fault that my best friend killed himself, when you have no idea what even happened. You're just like everyone else. I'm sick of all the sympathy from people who have never known pain, from people who don't know what it's like to have their hearts shattered by the one person you thought would never hurt you. You're all a bunch of hypocrites, you don't understand anything."

Once again Allen just sat there, saying nothing, allowing Kanda's words to roll off him in waves.

"If you've got nothing else to say then I'm leaving," Kanda began to walk towards the hatch, turning around when he heard a faint voice coming from the other teen.

"You're an idiot Kanda," the white haired boy looked up, catching cobalt eyes and holding him in place with an intense stare. "You say that I don't know pain, but I've seen more of it then you have. While you've been safe here in your little haven, blissfully unaware of the world, I've been living in that world, and I can tell you it's not pretty. I've watched countless friends die, because of me, because I was either too afraid, or too powerless to help them. If I hadn't met them they would still be alive, I'm the one to blame for all of their deaths, but I know I can wallow in self-pity the way you have. I have to keep moving on, for the sake of my friends, and for the sake of everyone around me. So when I say it wasn't your fault that Alma died it's the truth, but apparently you're too thick to understand it. You need to stop hating yourself and move on, if you don't you'll be stuck forever, lost in memories that you don't want to relive. Would Alma have wanted this? Do you really think that by doing this you're helping anyone? "

They stared at each other for a moment, neither one wanting to break the stare, because it would mean defeat, and defeat wasn't an option. Kanda broke eye contact first, the pain in the other teens eyes made his own pain look like a drop of water in a pond, small and insignificant. He looked up at the sky and watched as puffy white clouds floated across the pale blue sky. Why couldn't life be easy? Like a cloud caught by a breeze, just turning wherever the wind decided to take it.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a gentle hand on his cheek. He hadn't even realized he'd been crying again, until the hand brushed away the tears, leaving feathery traces of warmth behind them. Kanda turned his head, and looked once again into the deep pools of gray that were Allen's eyes, seeing all of the other boy's emotions, and finally coming to the realization that Allen was right.

It hadn't been Kanda's fault, and even if it had been no one was blaming him. There hadn't been anyone who had ever thought he was the reason for Alma's suicide, apart from himself. All of the guilt, the remorse, the hate, had been brought on by his own thoughts, and his assumptions about Alma's feelings. There really was no way of knowing what Alma had meant by his last words, he could've been blaming Kanda for everything, or thanking him for the time they had shared together. It was those words that had haunted him for the past two years, but now, Kanda came to understand that not knowing was something he was going to have to deal with, it was something he'd never find out.

The knowledge brought new hope to his thoughts about Allen. Now that Kanda understood he wasn't the cause of Alma's suicide he became less afraid of hurting Allen. He'd gotten lost in thought again, and pulled himself out to look at Allen once more.

The boy was looking up into his face, his gaze trained on Kanda's lips. The white haired teen had the most interesting expression on his face, one of puzzlement, longing, and almost fear. Looking into those eyes Kanda wasn't all that surprised when Allen brought his lips up to just in front of the blue haired teen's, breathing lightly. They stood there for a moment, trying to gauge each other's reactions, making sure that this is what they both wanted.

Kanda broke the moment, bringing his lips forward into an awkwardly passionate kiss. Allen's lips moved against his own, and he felt that quick electric jolt again, only this time it didn't go away. As they continued kissing, the jolt became a small fire, which grew into an inferno until they finally pulled apart. Kanda tried to catch his breath and after a moment he placed a hand on Allen's face, wanting to pull the sprout into another kiss. But when his skin made contact with the white haired teens it felt as though the younger boy was on fire, and Kanda quickly pulled his hand away.

"What the fuck?" Kanda asked as he looked at his hand to see an angry welt forming.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no," Allen kept repeating the words, his voice filled with horror.

When Kanda looked back up, he saw a bright flash of flames completely covering the boy in front of him. It was gone in an instant, but what it left behind would forever be stuck in his mind. Allen's shirt seemed to have fallen off, showing his pale chest, as well as a deformed left arm, but what really got Kanda's attention was the wings. They were beautiful, a fiery array of red with orange and yellow streaks, stretching to almost twice the boy's arm span. They had slight tinges of blue and purple on the bottom, adding to the overall beauty. Kanda stood there shocked for a moment before promptly beginning to freak out.

"What the fuck?" he repeated, bringing his hands up to run through his hair.

Allen looked at him sheepishly, "I guess I have some explaining to do."

"Like hell you have some explaining to do. You have fucking wings, and then the thing with the fire, and….. Dude what the fuck?" Kanda started sputtering, not really believing this was happening.

Allen sighed, "I guess the first thing you should know is that I'm a phoenix. The second would be that you're one too."

"What the fuck?"

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen finished climbing the latter, peaking his head out to view the roof before actually leaving the relative safety of the ladder. At first he overlooked the figure curled into a tight ball, taking it for something that had fallen onto the roof, or a part of the venting system. Upon closer inspection he realized it was a person, Kanda to be exact.

Slowly making his way onto the roof he watched as the other boy trembled, not quiet knowing what to do. Allen didn't want to startle the teen in front of him, so he just stood there, his indecision causing him to become rooted to the spot. Allen's heart ached as his mind rationalized what the smart thing to do would be. On one hand Allen could try and comfort the blue haired teen, but based on what he knew that's not really what Kanda would want right now. On another hand Allen could just walk away and pretend that he didn't see anything, go about his day and tell Kanda his important information later.

In the end his heart won out as he made his way over to the shaking form, giving a huge hug to the other teen. Wrapping his arms around Kanda's torso he felt an immeasurable warmth flow between them, not that Kanda would've noticed he was so focused on his crying. If the kiss before hadn't been enough of an indication the warmth was, this was definitely the person he'd been searching years to find.

His mind couldn't dwell on that fact, because at that moment Kanda looked up, his teary eyes showing how much pain he was in. Allen tried to keep his voice firm when he told the teen in front of him the first thing on his mind, Alma's death. He knew that the blue haired teen had probably heard the same words from countless people, but none of them could've understood Kanda's pain the way Allen did. Due to that fact Allen wasn't surprised as he watched the pain in the other teens eyes turn to anger, masking his hurt while he lashed out. Kanda pushed him off, which Allen was totally prepared for, using his arms to break the fall and lessen the impact. It was the same way he had reacted so many years ago. While he waited for Kanda to cool off Allen thought about his past, something that was probably darker than what anyone would imagine.

He'd been adopted by Mana at a young age, had never known his parents, or if he had even had parents to begin with. Even though he'd been left alone, Allen had always known he was special, something about him was different, something he couldn't quiet place until he was 8. There had been an accident at the circus he'd been working at, a huge fire had engulfed an entire tent, trapping dozens of people inside, including his adoptive father. Not really knowing what he'd been thinking at the time, he had run into the blaze, trying to save as many people as he could. What he hadn't realized until after was that the flames hadn't hurt him at all, they had actually felt comforting, like a loving embrace.

When he'd finally found Mana the entire tent had collapsed, leaving them trapped in the inferno. Allen had watched as the one person who actually mattered to him burned, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He'd reached for the man but his arm had caught on something burning, hot and metallic, causing his entire arm to become engulfed in flame, but the fire was quickly put out by some unknown force and his arm healed forming some kind of angry red scar tissue.

When the fire had finally been put out, the fire fighters began to search the rubble to do a body count. They had been more than shocked to find a small boy, totally unscathed, with the exception of his arm, crying over a burnt corpse. Not knowing what else to do with the hysterical child, they set him on a crate until he'd calmed down enough to answer their questions.

When the body count had been done, and everything was being wrapped up the firefighters finally remembered the boy. One came over and starting asking him questions, all of which he answered to the best of his ability, the only one he couldn't manage to figure out was how he had survived. When the firefighters had finished they called social services, the boy's father had died, and a new guardian had to be found. From there he'd been bounced around to different foster homes, in each one something he couldn't explain would happened and he'd be kicked out, because he was a danger to the other children.

In one he'd gotten over excited and set some curtains on fire, when asked about it he couldn't remember having anything in his hands that could've started a fire. In another he'd gotten angry at another kid and had grabbed the kid's wrist, only to leave a bright red burn on the other boys arm. The other boy swore he saw flames spring from Allen's hands, but everyone else had brushed it off as strange delusions.

After six months of swapping one foster home for another a guardian finally stepped up to take him in. All that Allen knew was that the man had been an old friend of Mana's, and after hearing what had happened he'd volunteered to be the boy's legal guardian. Not having much of a choice Allen went with him, which was both the worst and best decision of his life.

His new guardian, a man by the name of Cross Marian, made his life a living hell. Making the boy pay all of his accumulated debts as well as forcing him into rigorous training, teaching Allen to use powers he'd never known about. It was Cross that had informed Allen about what he was, a phoenix, it was also Cross that kept the Noah at bay for years, allowing Allen time to master his powers and get used wielding the flames. When Allen was fourteen Cross disappeared, telling the boy it was his turn to find a place in the world. That's how he'd ended up here, almost two and a half years later, in a school, face to face with the person he'd been searching for.

Allen was brought out of his thoughts by an angry voice practically screaming at him. "So much for him calming down," Allen thought as he began to speak. The words just kind of spilled out, but Allen knew they were all true. So much had happened to him in his short life, some of those things would probably make a grown man cry, but he'd gotten used to it. It was a sad but true fact, he'd come to expect pain and anguish in his life, and anyone who thought he was some sheltered child was way off.

When he'd finally finished he looked up, locking gazes with a pair of strong willed cobalt blue eyes. He knew he'd win the stare down, there wasn't near enough pain in the other teens gaze to force him to look away, and when he was right a smile ghosted across his face until he noticed that Kanda had begun to cry again.

Acting more on instinct then reason, Allen walked over to the blue haired teen and placed a gloved hand on his cheek, gently wiping away the tears as the fell. When he looked into the other teens face Allen noticed as the small worry lines began to fade as the look of anguish disappeared.

"Forgiving yourself is the first step," Allen murmured, knowing that Kanda was too wrapped up in thought to hear him. Allen let his hand fall to the older teen's neck, stroking the soft skin while contemplating kissing the gorgeous boy in front of him. He probably should, just to make sure he was totally correct about Kanda, but there was always the slight chance that he'd lose control and reveal himself, which wasn't what he wanted to do at the moment.

Allen didn't realize he'd been staring at the Japanese teen's lips until the other boy looked at him, a slight smirk of bemusement flashing across his face. "To hell with it," Allen thought, stepping closer to Kanda until their lips were only inches away. He paused, was this really what he wanted? Did he really want to bring this dark beauty into his world of insanity? The questions were answered for him when the blue haired teen's lips brushed his, sending a shock wave through his body.

With just that brief contact Allen was sure, but he couldn't manage to stop himself as he moved against Kanda's lips, loving the taste of the older teen. He could feel the fire beginning to take over, but at the moment he didn't care. Let Kanda see him for what he truly was, it would have to happen sooner or later.

When they broke apart for air Allen stepped back, knowing the transformation was beginning, and wanting to minimalize any damage it might do to Kanda. The blue haired teen reached for his face, and when he made contact a small flame grazed his hand, causing a slight burn to start forming. For a moment Allen was confused, if Kanda was a phoenix like him he shouldn't burn like normal people. The answer came almost as quickly as the question, Kanda hadn't yet come into his powers, which basically meant that he'd never stood inside a fire, which, considering the fact that he was normal wasn't all that surprising.

Allen could feel the change coming on, but didn't want to perform a full transformation, turning into a fiery bird was not the best idea at the moment. The usual blaze engulfed his form, beginning the process of changing him, but he cut it off quickly, not allowing his body to transform completely. Even though he didn't change fully he still gained his phoenix wings, the appendages poked out of his back, resting gracefully behind him. His shirt had been burned off, which really was a pity, but it felt so good to have his wings free that he really didn't mind that much.

When he looked up at Kanda, Allen wasn't surprised to see the other teen's reaction. Of course the Japanese teen was shocked, who wouldn't be when the boy you had just been kissing a moment ago burst into flames and gained wings. Allen however wasn't quite prepared for the look of fear that crossed the other teens face.

"I guess I have some explaining to do," Allen looked sheepishly, he was the one with the fully exposed wings after all. He let Kanda calm down a little, listening as the other teen let off steam by swearing at him. There really was no need for a long explanation at the moment, seeing as all the proof Allen would have been expected to show was currently displayed on his back, so he just said it.

"I guess the first thing you should know is that I'm a phoenix. The second would be that you're one too," Allen said it in a kind of rush, hoping the words would make sense and that he wouldn't have to repeat himself.

"What the fuck?" Kanda whispered before promptly fainting. Allen was so shocked by the reaction that he almost didn't catch the older teen before he hit the roof. Luckily Allen's wings gave him a little extra speed boost so he managed to get Kanda in his arms before the other boy hit the ground. Making sure to keep some kind of clothing between his naked chest and Kanda's skin he gently placed the other boy on the roof.

He could explain things to the other teen when he woke up, assuming that the he didn't try to run away. In the mean-time Allen had to focus on retracting his wings, he couldn't walk around school with them, so he sat next to the unconscious boy and began to meditate, forcing his wings back into himself and trying to quell his emotions so they wouldn't come out again.

**A/N: There you have it, the crazy chapter that I managed to cook up.**

**Yes I decided to use the phoenix as my mythological creature for the strange and abnormal plot twist, and before you all jump on me saying things like, "Phoenix are birds not people." Or "That's not right." Hear me out. I did some research, and in certain mythology phoenix can turn into people, therefor my argument stands. In correlation to their powers, I was thinking of doing some mixes of various phoenix lore and popular knowledge (which basically consists of what people have read in ****Harry Potter****, with additions from Supernatural). Please tell me what you think, mainly because I'm still in the planning phase of the next couple of chapters, although I know I'm going to include Allen's back story about the Noah.**

**Thanks again for reading, hope you enjoyed it and please review.**


	9. Chapter 9 Questions and Answers

**A/N: Just based on the reviews I got to last chapter, no one, I repeat no one, saw that one coming. I don't know if that makes me a good writer for being able to throw you all for such a loop, or if it means that I'm crazy and indecisive. I prefer to think that it's the second one, because I do stuff like that all the time in real life. Sad to say I kind of surprised myself with that one, and it is official this story is going in directions that I had not initial anticipated. Either way, I'll continue it, the ideas just keep flowing, so I see no point in stopping it.**

**This chapter is basically a bit of an explanation for last chapter, hopefully it helps, although next chapters where I'm going to really outline what's going on.**

**Thanks for reading and putting up with me. Please review and tell me what you think.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, not D. Gray Man or any of the characters.**

Chapter 9 Questions and Answers

Kanda opened his eyes, feeling the sun on his face, wondering exactly what had happened. Did he just fall asleep and have a ridiculous dream about the sprout having wings, or had it actually happened? The image of the pale boy and his majestic wings kept flashing behind his eyelids, almost making him believe it was all a dream, something his subconscious had come up with, not something that had actually happened.

That theory was disproved almost immediately when Kanda heard movement next to him, and the slight rustle of cloth against skin. He opened his eyes to the harsh sunlight, trying to get his eyes to adjust enough to see who was next to him, even though he already knew. Lifting himself onto his elbows he glanced around, noticing that Allen was just finishing buttoning up a fresh shirt. Kanda knew it was a different shirt because this one didn't have any brightly colored food stains.

Allen had turned around to look for something in his school bag, and Kanda took full advantage to the moment to inspect the other teens clothed back. Where had the wings gone, it's not like they were small enough to be flattened to his back, so where did they go? Kanda sat up fully, wanting to reach over and pat the white haired teens back, just to make sure he wasn't going crazy, but refraining from doing so because it would make the situation even more awkward.

Kanda watched as Allen turned back to face him, pulling on a new pair of gloves with an annoying expression on his face. The kid was smirking, which set Kanda's nerves on edge, wondering just what the other boy was thinking.

"You fainted," the white haired boy in front of him stated, that stupid smirk still on his face, "And before you ask the wings are gone, I'll explain it later, but as long as you don't try to touch me they shouldn't come out again."

"T-t-touch you? What the hell are you talking about? What the fuck is going on?" Kanda was so confused, nothing made sense anymore, there seemed to be no answers to the constant stream of questions going through his head.

The younger boys face flashed with anger for a second, before it was hidden beneath a mask of calm, "You know if you would stop asking questions then perhaps I could start answering the ones that are most important." The boy sat down in front of Kanda, crossing his legs and placing his elbows his knees. He began to explain what was going on, acting as though Kanda was a child which really pissed the older teen off.

"Well like I said before you so astonishingly fainted, we're both phoenix, although you probably wouldn't know that, because you've never stood in an open flame. There are only ever two phoenix in the world at one given time, and once one's been awakened they start searching for the other, which is what led me to you. Phoenix are reborn into different forms each time they regenerate, meaning that we look different in each generation, which makes finding each other harder. I know you probably don't want the mission statement at the moment so I'll just move on to our abilities. Being a phoenix you can turn into bird form at will, although until you learn to control…"

"You know I'm not a five year old right?" Kanda asked cutting into one of Allen's explanations.

"I know that Kanda, but seeing as I don't want you fainting again I'm trying to speak slowly so your tiny brain doesn't get overloaded," the look of anger was back, but once again it was quickly choked off by a calm mask.

"My brains not tiny stupid Moyashi, if anything your brain is smaller than mine," Kanda retorted, watching as Allen's face turned a light shade of pink in anger. Damn the sprout was cute when he got angry. Kanda pushed the thought away quickly, remembering what Allen had said earlier about touching him.

"Kanda, if you want answers then I suggest you shut up," Allen's voice had a cold edge to it, relaying his anger and frustration.

"Fine, just explain it," Kanda was practically itching for answers, wishing he could just get the information he wanted without having to rely on the sprout. As it was he really didn't have much of a choice, so he sat patiently while Allen continued.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Once his wings had been fully retracted, which had hurt, a lot, Allen started searching inside his bag for the extra shirt he always kept, just in case something like this happened. He pulled his arms through the arm holes, loving the feel of the soft, fire retardant fabric, a phoenix could never be too careful. As he started to button up the shirt he heard his previously unconscious companion start to move, looking down to see Kanda propped up on his elbows. Allen watched the blue haired teens face for any reactions, basically he wanted to make sure the other teen wasn't about to run screaming for the hills. What he found didn't surprise him at all though, just a very intense case of confusion, coupled with the very annoyed expression that usually adorned the other teen's face.

Allen turned back to his backpack to find his extra pair of gloves, he couldn't risk touching anyone with his emotions in such a jumble, he might end up setting someone or something on fire. Pulling on the gloves he felt more then saw the intense stare that Kanda was giving his back. The other teen was probably searching for his now hidden wings. Allen smirked at the thought of the surprise his wings must've been for Kanda to be searching for them.

"You fainted," Allen said to the teen on the ground, continuing on about his lack of wings, and hinting that he shouldn't be touched at the moment. The funny thing was that Allen actually wanted to be touched by Kanda, he was itching for that amazing warmth to return. He restrained himself from going over to the blue haired teen with great difficulty, mainly because he knew his skin would burn the teen on the ground, causing damage to the gorgeous body.

Once Kanda was done sputtering and asking questions, a very annoyed Allen finally started to explain himself, only to get interrupted again. This was the last time he was going to be interrupted, or so help him the boy in front of him was going to be burned into the roof. Allen took a deep breath to calm himself down, then kindly told the other teen to shut up, adding a nice hint of ice to his voice to get his point across.

When the affirmative to continue was given, Allen decided to wait a minute to gather his thoughts. Looking at the sullen face of his companion he read the other teen's body language seeing the inpatients there. Now that he finally had his thoughts in some kind of order, and the full attention of the short tempered teen he launched into an explanation.

"So like I was saying before, phoenix can turn into the traditional bird form, although it takes time to learn how to control it. You can also perform a half-transformation, like I just did, but it tends to be painful because your stopping midway through the change. The transition can be brought on willingly, or by intense emotional stress, you can probably guess which caused my transformation. Now that I've explained that you probably want to know what we can do." Allen's face flushed slightly as he looked at the puzzled teen before him, wondering just how much information the other could take at once.

"Okay I think I understand that, but you mean to tell me there's more?" the long haired teen asked seemingly surprised.

"Oh trust me there's a lot more to understand, but you'll pick it up as you go along. Until you go thought the changing process all you really need to know is that phoenix can control fire, what you can to with the ability varies based on your control. Another thing you should probably know is that we can burn humans on contact if we want to or if we lose control. That's why you burned your hand when you touched my face earlier. By the way do you want me to look at that, I'm kind of an expert on burns." Allen reached out for the other teen's hand, nodding encouragement as the older teen slowly reached out the hand in question.

The burn wasn't bad, but it marred Kanda's entire palm, and if it wasn't treated the he could forget about using his hand for a few days. After gentle ghosting his fingers across the wound Allen reached behind him for his backpack. Using his free hand to look around for the cream he always carried for this purpose. He pulled out the unlabeled tube and popped the cap off. The Japanese teen looked skeptical but allowed a dab of the pale yellow cream to be placed on his injured palm.

"You're going to need to rub it in, unless you want me to burn you again," Allen said, putting the tube back in his backpack after replacing the cap.

Kanda started rubbing in the cream, and Allen watched as the teen marveled at the relief it gave to the burn. After a few moments the burn started to disappear, almost as if it had never been there to begin with.

The blue haired teen looked up in amazement, "What the fuck just happened?"

"Phoenix tears, they can heal pretty much anything. I put some in the cream, which dilutes the potency, but usually gets the job done. I usually feel really bad when I burn someone, so I use the cream to heal them. I would just cry on them, but I can't cry on command, so this is the next best option," Allen watched as Kanda's face changed from one of puzzlement to bemusement, "Don't give me that look. I know it sounds stupid, but to it makes me feel better to know that while I can inflict the damage, I can also take it away."

"I'm not laughing at that. Okay I kind of am, but honestly this is way too much to take in at once. You keep talking about 'when' I go through the change, don't I get any say in what happens? Can I choose to stay normal? Is that an option?" Kanda looked angry and kind of scared, which Allen couldn't really understand, probably because he hadn't had any say in his transformation, it all just kind of happened.

"Kanda I'm not going to rush you into it, but there's something else you need to know about before you make a final decision. If you don't go through the transformation into a fully-fledged phoenix, we can't ever be together, I would end up incinerating you after just a few kisses. These first few times we were lucky that I managed some kind of control, but if we keep going like this I'm not going to be able to contain myself. If my feelings for you are any indication of what you feel for me then I have a hunch we won't be able to stay apart for long. There is also another matter that I have to tell you about, and that would be the Noah." Allen flinched at the last word, knowing this was probably going to scare Kanda away and not wanting that to happen. Kanda deserved to make an informed decision though, so the Noah had to be brought up.

"Okay I understand the first part, but who the hell are the Noah?" Kanda looked pissed, which Allen couldn't quite understand until the teen in front of him reached out and brushed a tear from his face. Kanda winched slightly at the lick of fire that attacked his fingers, but the pain retreated as soon as the tear started to heal the burn.

"I thought you said you couldn't cry on command," he whispered, brushing another tear away as it fell.

"I can't," Allen's breath hitched as he tried to stop himself, but the memories were too painful, and his small frame shook while he let his emotions out.

"Shhh, it's okay, just tell me what happened. I'll protect you, I swear," Allen heard Kanda say as he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his shoulders, "You helped me face my demons, let me help you face yours."

Making sure to keep a layer of clothing between his skin and Kanda's, Allen buried his face into the older teen's chest, letting himself cry while Kanda rubbed soothing circles on his back. When Allen was able to calm himself enough to speak he looked into the eyes of the person holding him and started to tell the teen the story of the Noah.

**A/N: Okay I feel really evil now, because I promised to explain the Noah thing in this chapter, but obviously that didn't happen. Sorry but I'm ending it here, there was just way to much information in this chapter already, and I didn't think adding any more would be a good idea, didn't want to overload my poor readers. I promise, promise, promise to put the information about the Noah in the next chapter**

**Thank you for reading and please review.**


	10. Chapter 10 The Noah

**A/N: First off Happy Birthday Kanda! I wanted to get this chapter out for Kanda's birthday, even though it's all about Allen and the Noah. On another note, I finally did the chapter with the Noah information! I was so happy when I finished this, because it means that most of the pesky explanations are done.**

**Now on to the chapter. Hope you like it, and please review when you're done, I'd love to hear from you.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray Man or any of the characters**

Chapter 10 The Noah

Kanda sat listening none to patiently as the sprout started to explain what was going on. Some of the stuff seemed too strange to actually be true, but just based on what Kanda had seen there was nothing else the words could be. While the other boy started to explain the powers that phoenix had one word kept popping into his head. The word was 'when', the white haired teen kept repeating it when he talked about Kanda becoming a full phoenix, as if he didn't have a say in the matter.

He brushed it away when the boy reached out a hand to examine his burned palm. He placed his hand gingerly into the other teens, almost waiting for a flame to appear and burn him again. When nothing happened he looked down at his hand, noticing the gloves that the other teen was wearing, coming to the conclusion that as long as there was some kind of barrier between their skin he would be safe.

When Allen finished examining his palm the other boy reached into his backpack and pulled out a suspicious, unlabeled tube, opening the cap and placing a dab on the injured palm. He was a little wary of the substance, honestly with what he'd seen today he wouldn't be surprised if the cream turned him into a unicorn. The white haired teen gave instructions to rub it in, so Kanda did, immediately feeling the cream work at relieving the pain from his burn.

He continued rubbing, until he felt a strange itching sensation on his skin, and looking at his palm he watched as the burn disappeared. He looked from the burn to the Moyashi a few times, puzzlement clear on his face.

"What the fuck just happened?" Kanda looked up at Allen in amazement.

He heard the answer, but this was way too much information to take in, so he was only able to process the vague mention of phoenix tears. He started to chuckle, this was way too much to puzzle out, it would take him at least a couple of days to come to terms with any of it, but the sprout kept layering it on, adding more to the puzzle. Kanda looked into Allen's face, noticing the annoyance at his slight outburst, and quickly explained himself, it wouldn't do any good to have the sprout mad at him.

"I'm not laughing at that. Okay I kind of am, but honestly this is way too much to take in at once. You keep talking about 'when' I go through the change, don't I get any say in what happens? Can I choose to stay normal? It that an option?" He had finally brought up the thought that kept pushing its way into his head. He hated when didn't have a say in his own life, hated feeling powerless to do anything, so he needed to know his options.

"Kanda I'm not going to rush you into it, but there's something else you need to know about before you make a final decision. If you don't go through the transformation into a fully-fledged phoenix, we can't ever be together, I would end up incinerating you after just a few kisses." Allen's words stung, even though they'd only met a few hours before, Kanda couldn't seem to picture a world where he couldn't kiss or touch Allen. It was taking all of his self-restraint to keep himself from jumping on the other teen and kissing him again.

"These first few times we were lucky that I managed some kind of control, but if we keep going like this I'm not going to be able to contain myself. If my feelings for you are any indication of what you feel for me then I have a hunch we won't be able to stay apart for long. There is another matter I need to tell you about, and that would be the Noah." Kanda saw Allen winch at the last word, which caused his usually controlled anger to flare. Whoever had caused his Moyashi pain was going to suffer.

Wait when had Allen become his? When had he made the decision to lay claim to the boy in front of him? Kanda shook away the thought, it didn't matter, not anymore. He'd unconsciously decided to give the white haired teen his love, which meant that he wasn't going to let anything or anyone hurt the younger teen. To his mind it sounded incredibly stupid, but something inside him said it was right, that this was his purpose. Kanda looked into Allen's eyes, and saw them begin to water, the beautiful gray becoming hazy.

"I understand the first part, but who the hell are the Noah?" Kanda tried to keep the anger from his voice, but failed as he watched a silvery tear slowly move down the white haired teen's cheek. The Japanese teen reached up to brush it away with calloused fingers, forgetting about the flames until they licked his skin causing him to winch. The pain went away almost immediately, due to the shiny tear that coated the burn.

As he looked at Allen a piece of their conversation came back in his mind,

"I thought you said you couldn't cry on command." He whispered the words, not wanting to startle the crying boy in front of him. He brushed away another tear, this time expecting the sting of pain for the fire.

"I can't," was the reply he got as the boy started to break down into sobs. There was pain in the tears, a pain that Kanda could never hope to understand. Sure loosing Alma had been hard, but it seemed to be nothing compared to the hell this younger teen had gone through.

His body reacted before he could really think, giving comfort to the shaking boy by wrapping his arms around the petite frame.

"Shhh, it's okay, just tell me what happened. I'll protect you, I swear. You helped me face my demons, now let me help you face yours." The comforting words came unbidden from Kanda's mouth, which was probably for the best, considering the stoic Japanese teen really wasn't one for words. He noticed the effect the words had on the white haired boy, at first the boy let his emotions flow, something it seemed he didn't do often. When his tears had run out he sat clutching Kanda's shirt for a few moments, calming himself down enough to tell his story.

Kanda held the boy and listened patiently while the white haired teen told him the story of the Noah.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen took a deep breath and began recounting his experiences and knowledge of the Noah.

"The group that call themselves the Noah are an ancient group of people that formed right after the first phoenix was created. They never get any older, but they can be killed, and unlike us they don't come back. While we maintain the balance in the world, they try to destroy it, but killing us, and keeping us apart. In each generation they search for the first of us to awaken, and when they find one of us, they torture that person until they get the location of the other phoenix. Then they kill the phoenix they have in captivity, and go after the next one, killing the other as soon as possible."

"The Noah want to keep us apart, because by ourselves we're too weak to defeat them, but together we have enough power to destroy them. The only problem for us is that it takes at least ten years for us to be reborn after we're killed, and it takes even longer for one of us to awaken, giving them plenty of time to find either of us, and continue the twisted cycle. Last time they found you first, which is why you're older than me, but this time they found me." Allen shivered at the memory, curling tighter into Kanda's chest as the older teen's arms constricted around his small frame. He tried to keep the tears from falling, but the wet droplets seeped from his eyes and into Kanda's shirt, causing the fabric to stick to the older teen's skin.

"It's okay, I'm here, take deep breaths, and talk to me," Kanda continued to rub calming circles on Allen's back, speaking in a soft tone that was totally different from his normal way of speech.

Allen did as he was told, taking in a large lungful of Kanda's scent, which smelled like a beautiful mix of flowers and spice. He felt himself relax into Kanda's touch, his breathing became less ragged as the tears stopped. Taking one last breath he continued his story, wishing he didn't have to relive the hell he'd gone through, but knowing he couldn't keep it inside forever.

"They found me two years ago in France. I was studying there under Masters orders, he said he wanted me to learn French, so I moved to the city and started school. It had been years after I'd awakened, so I knew how to control my powers, and I would've been able to put up a fight, if they hadn't tricked me. There was a little girl, no older then twelve, sitting in an alleyway crying, so I went to see what was wrong. As soon as I got near her the world went black and I woke up chained to a table in a dank, dark room. That was the first time I met Road Kamelot, the youngest looking of the Noah, but by far the most sadistic." Allen shook his head to try and get rid of the images of the girl, but failed, so he just continued.

"She enjoyed 'playing' with me, by distorting reality so I didn't know what was real and what was fake. Both my body and my mind were ripped to shreds when we 'played', and there was even a point when I couldn't remember who I was. Then it stopped, Road left for some reason, and I was left alone for three days, allowing me to piece myself back together, just in time for the next bout of torture. Which is when Tyki showed up," Allen felt anger rush up inside of him, briefly overshadowing the pain as he talked about Tyki. There were so many things he wanted to do to harm the man for all the pain he'd caused.

"Tyki Mikk was my second tormentor, and his torture was terrible, even worse than Roads. He had these things he called Tease, demonic butterflies that eat human flesh. He'd let them cover me and then watch as they slowly ate down to the bone. Thankfully my healing ability kept me from dying, but as it was Tyki managed to keep me within an inch of my life, only giving me enough food and water to keep me alive. I wasn't allowed to sleep, and when I would pass out they would wake me up immediately and continue to torture my body. It was hell, actually it was probably worse than hell, and I have no idea how I managed to get away. They were so close to breaking me, so close to finding out where I thought you were, but they never managed to get the information. After three weeks I'd finally had enough, I was so tired that I didn't care anymore, I just wanted it to end." He'd started to cry again, but this time they just slid down his cheeks, adding more moisture to Kanda' already wet shirt.

"I don't really remember much from that time, I was so delirious I'm not sure what happened that allowed me to escape. Although I do remember a voice, I'm fairly certain it was your voice actually, although from one of our past lives. It kept telling me not to give up, to keep going and find you. Other than then all I can remember from my escaped was a flash of fire, and an explosion. In the end I found myself in the middle of a field, surrounded by cows, somewhere in the French countryside. It took me two weeks of resting with a kind old woman to get enough strength to move, and then two more weeks for me to finally leave her house, and continue my search. I've been running form the Noah ever sense, every couple of months they'd manage to find me, so I would have to leave. I knew they were onto me when the few friends I'd made in the school I'd been attending started disappearing, or dying in tragic accidents. I was always on the lookout for you, but I only had a vague idea of where you might be. Then I came here, and found you, so now I can finally stop searching."

He reached up a gloved hand and smiled as he cupped the blue haired teen's cheek. Allen let out a huge sigh as he snuggled into Kanda's chest. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders, the truth that had haunted him for the past two years. Allen closed his eyes and thanked whatever higher power was out there for letting him find Kanda, and for allowing the older teen to be so open minded, and not run away.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, Allen sitting on Kanda's lap, curling into the older teen's chest, while Kanda gently stoked his hair. The white haired teen was startled when Kanda cleared his throat, and he jumped slightly. His cheeks turned a slight pink at his outburst, but he remained silent, letting the blue haired teen say what was on his mind.

"I'll do it," Kanda said gruffly, "I'll go through the transformation, or whatever. When do you want to do it?"

Allen was a little shocked by the words, but thankfully his mind was fast, "This Friday night. You'll need a few days to get used to the change, so this weekend should work. I'll find a place and get everything set up, you just need to show up and walk into the fire."

Kanda hesitated before asking another question, "Does it hurt?"

"Actually no it doesn't. It feels almost warm and welcoming, like a loving embrace. If you're scared I could go in with you," Allen looked into the cobalt eyes of the other teen and saw the little trace of fear there, but also the determination.

"That sounds nice," Kanda rested his head on top of Allen's breathing out a silent sigh of relief.

It was then they heard a dinging sound from inside the school, the bell had rung for passing time between the hours. Allen sat up, raising his eyebrows at the Japanese teen. Had all that really happened in just one hour?

"Hey Moyashi how long was I passed out for?" Kanda asked his brows knitting together as he looked at his watch.

"About five minutes, why?" Allen started to get up from the roof, picking up his bag and heading towards the hatch.

"No reason, we should really be getting to class. Would you like me to show you the way?" Kanda was not being himself, but at that moment Allen didn't really care.

"Sure. And Kanda?" Allen waited until the other teen looked at him, "Thank you."

**A/N: Phew done with the Noah chapter. Hopefully now you see how the Noah fit into the story, if you don't I'm not sure what to tell you. Thanks for reading, I'll get the next chapter up soon, and please review. I'd love to hear from you.**


	11. Chapter 11 Back to Class

**A/N: So next chapter is up finally. Sorry it took me a week to update, I was just having a ridiculously hard time trying to get Kanda's character right, and in the end it didn't even matter because Kanda is totally OOC in this chapter, and there really wasn't much I could do to not have that happen. **

**I would quickly like to thank Hanshi o suru for reading and reviewing to basically every chapter, its wonderful people like you who make me want to write more. I would also like to thank all of those who have reviewed to this fic, you keep me going, even the times when I start to wonder where exactly this is all going.**

**Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter, and as always please review.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters**.

Chapter 11 Back to Class

Kanda couldn't quite understand it. Why would someone be so hell bent on destroying something so good? He could tell that Allen was broken in more ways than one, and seeing the fragile boy so torn up was sending daggers into Kanda's heart. Allen was so innocent underneath his strange exterior, and the Japanese teen couldn't understand how no one else was able to notice the pain he was in. Even though he didn't really know what was going on he listened, trying to retain as much of the information as he could.

What he got from the first hit of facts was that the Noah was a group of people who existed for no other purpose then to kill the phoenix and cause mass corruption. That information threw him for a loop, knowing that someone's been out to kill you since you were born really puts things into perspective. The knowledge that he'd been killed and reborn also managed to puzzle him. If he had lived countless times, then why couldn't he remember any of his past lives? It was a question he'd ask the sprout later, because at that moment, said sprout had tightened his grip on the older teen's shirt, startling Kanda into clutching the boy tighter.

He felt a wetness slowly seep into his shirt, and looking down he noticed that the frail teen in his grasp had started to cry again. Kanda felt the boys trembling and his heart had the sudden ache to stop such a pitiful sight. Once again the soothing words seemed to come from nowhere, pouring out of his lips and helping to calm the crying teen. His voice was soft, which shocked him a little, but it worked, and while the boy took a deep breath, Kanda absentmindedly kissed the feathery white hair at the top of the sprouts head. Taking in a deep lungful of the boy's smell, he was reminded of a hearth fire, the smoky smell of ash and burning wood seemed to cling to the other teen.

When Allen resumed his story Kanda snapped out of a trance-like state, quickly tuning into what the boy was saying. The words made his blood boil, sending flashes of rage into his system. No one was allowed to treat his Moyashi that way, and if they tried they'd get introduced to his most prized possession, his dark katana Mugen.

Kanda listened as the sprout recalled the torture he was subjected to all with a dead voice, devoid of any emotion. So when the tone of Allen's voice changed Kanda's ears pricked up, noticing the anger behind the words. Whoever this Tyki Mikk guy was, he really didn't want to cross paths with Allen anytime soon. Hearing Allen's anger fanned the flames within the young Japanese teen, adding to his fury for this Noah group.

When the small spark of anger left, Allen's recount once again became monotonous, almost as if he was just stating factual information. The only indication of the internal pain the sprout was feeling was the constant stream of tears that flowed down his cheek and into Kanda's shirt. The boy's lack of emotion kind of scared the blue haired teen, because it showed just how far they'd been able to break him before he'd managed to escape.

The story of Allen's escape was extraordinary. That he'd managed to escape after so long under torment and with barely any strength left surprised Kanda. He couldn't help being slightly suspicious though, it seemed almost too unbelievable. Allen's next words added to his suspicions, if the Noah found him every few months, then why did they start killing his friends first? Why not capture the sprout again and torture him more?

Once again the information was just too much for him to handle, so he pushed it aside. He'd sort his thoughts out when he was alone, and had the time to properly puzzle everything out.

He looked down at the boy in his arms when he felt a warm hand on his cheek. He hadn't noticed it before, but even with the layers of clothing between them Allen was unnaturally warm, like a little mini furnace. There were still tears in the sprouts eyes, but he had a small smile on his face, one that was completely genuine, not fake like all the others. Kanda sat there and let the other teen snuggle into his chest, suppressing a smile at how childlike Allen was acting.

He could tell that this was the first time the white haired boy felt secure enough to tell his story, and he could also tell that a significant weight had been lifted off the boy's small shoulders. The boy in his arms seemed too young, too small, to have gone through that type of hell, and Kanda couldn't help but feel sad that he hadn't been there to protect the boy. Now that he knew what had happened to the younger boy, he knew what he had to do.

He started stroking Allen's feathery light hair while he gave his decision one final minute of thought. He would do what the younger boy had asked, he would go through the transformation and turn into a phoenix, Allen's story was enough to convince him. Before he committed to anything he needed to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. If he went through with it, he would become a phoenix, would be able to control fire, and would finally have the power to protect Allen. However, if he went through with the transformation, he wouldn't be able to touch people, everyone but Allen would be limits for any kind of skin on skin contact, not that he did much of the anyway. He'd also have to come to grips with the possibility of turning into a fiery bird, which actually sounded really cool. There was only one other con he could think of, and that was the worst of all.

What was he going to tell Tiedoll? The man wasn't his father, but Tiedoll was his legal guardian, and despite being an artist, he was surprisingly perceptive. Kanda knew he couldn't keep a secret that big from his guardian for long, so how was he supposed to tell him? Tiedoll would probably believe him if the Japanese teen told him, but there was always that nagging doubt, and Kanda didn't want to look like an idiot in front of the man. Kanda sighed internally, he'd have to tell the man sooner or later, and sooner would probably be better.

With those thoughts out of the way, he cleared his throat, silently chuckling to himself when he felt Allen jump slightly. He was going to tell the sprout his choice, there really wasn't anything holding him back from doing it now.

"I'll do it," he was still a little wary of his choice, but it was the only one that made sense at the moment, "I'll go through the transformation, or whatever. When do you want to do it?"

Kanda felt the sprout stiffen in shock, but he was quickly answered, "This Friday night. You'll need a few days to get used to the change, so this weekend should work. I'll find a place and get everything set up, you just need to show up and walk into the fire."

He was a little worried about the whole walking into a fire thing, what happened if he burned? He needed to know, but hesitated before asking another question, "Does it hurt?"

"Actually no it doesn't. It feels almost warm and welcoming, like a loving embrace. If you're scared I could go in with you." A warm pair of gray eyes met his, displaying the younger teen's joy at his response, and he couldn't help but be satisfied with his choice.

"That sounds nice," Kanda rested his head on top of Allen's breathing out a silent sigh of relief, this was going to work, because Allen was going to be there with him the entire time.

It was then that the bell decided to ring, bringing Kanda out of his contented thoughts. He watched as Allen stood up, feeling sad at the loss of the other teen's body heat. When he looked up at the white haired boy from his place on the ground the other teen had his eyebrows slightly lifted in surprise. Kanda looked down at his watch while he heard the sprout start to get his things.

"Hey Moyashi how long was I passed out for?" he asked his brows knitting together as he found his watch saying that only an hour had passed.

"About five minutes, why?" Allen had started to walk towards the hatch that led back into the school.

Had all of that happened in just an hour? It didn't seem possible, but then again, a lot of things that didn't seem possible before today had been proven true. Kanda shrugged it off, no reason to think about it, what's done is done.

"No reason, we should really be getting to class. Would you like me to show you the way?" Kanda was surprised as the words left his lips, they were kinder then his usual tone, but at the moment his head was swimming so he just let it slide.

"Sure. And Kanda?" Allen paused, and Kanda looked up into twin pools of gray, "Thank you."

The words warmed Kanda's usually cold heart, they'd helped each other today, and telling each other about the demons of their pasts had brought them closer together. When Kanda had finished relocking the hatch he climbed down the ladder and slipped the key into his backpack. He found Allen waiting at the bottom, opening the door to the janitor's closet, waiting for Kanda so they could go to their next class.

Kanda walked past the white haired boy into the hallway, shooting murderous glares at anyone who looked at them strangely. They had just walked out of a janitor's closet together, and Kanda's hair was loose, on account of Allen pulling it out earlier, so they had a right to stare. 'Fuck it,' Kanda thought, 'Might as well fuel the rumor mill.' With that thought he grabbed the Moyashi's hand, feeling the fabric of the gloves over the hot skin.

After this weekend there would be no going back, they were going to be a permanent thing, might as well let everyone else know that the new kid was his.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen reached the hatch and climbed down the ladder, opening the door and waiting for Kanda to lock the padlock on the hatch. When the other teen was done he brushed past Allen, making the boy blush slightly at the contact, and Allen followed him out, gently closing the door behind them.

When they walked into the hallway everyone started staring at them, which was understandable. They'd just walked out of a janitor's closet, very dis-shelved and together, people were going to stare, and eventually talk.

Allen felt himself blush an even deeper shade of red when he heard some girl whisper, "Hey look, it's the new kid. Who'd he just walk out of that closet with? Kanda? No way, that's not possible, there's no way Kanda would go for a freak like him." The words were the same one's he'd heard in many different schools, but this time they hurt more, leaving a slight sting in his chest.

Allen snapped his head around when he felt a calloused hand grab his, looking up to see that it was Kanda. The other teen gave a brief smirk before turning back around and leading Allen through the halls.

"What class do you have next?" Kanda asked gruffly, apparently he was become his cold heartless self once more.

Allen looked at his schedule, "Chemistry, Room 303, with Mr. Wenhemm."

He watched as Kanda's brow furrowed for a moment, thinking of how cute it made the other teen look. When realization dawned on the Japanese teens face Allen almost wanted to laugh.

"Oh you mean Reever. He hates it when you call him Mr. Wenhemm," Kanda explained quickly, taking them down slightly crowded hallways until they apparently reached the science wing.

"Why is that?" Allen asked, kind of curious why a teacher would want to be called by his first name.

"No one really knows, he just prefers it I guess. Kind of like how I prefer to be called Kanda, damn Usagi." The last bit was mumbled, but Allen managed to hear it anyway. There was another word he didn't understand, and it finally dawned on him that the words were Japanese. So Kanda liked to give nicknames to his friends in his native tongue, that knowledge would make it easier for Allen to look up later.

They made it to the chemistry lab just as the bell was ringing, Kanda tugging him along to a seat in the back by their connected hands. The teacher walked into the room, ushering the few stragglers to take seats while he headed for the black board. He started writing something, and when he finished he turned around, his eyes traveling around the room and landing on Allen.

"So you're the new student everyone's been talking about. I'm Mr. Wenhemm, but please call me Reever. You're Allen Walker right?" the man's tone was light and pleasant, however slightly bored.

"Y-Yes that's me," Allen answered right away, blushing a little at being identified so quickly, but happy that at least one of his teachers knew who he was. He felt Kanda reach under the table and give his hand a reassuring squeeze, silently telling him that there was no need to be nervous.

"Well with that out of the way let's begin the lesson," Reever clapped his hands and started talking about organic chemistry, something that Allen hadn't covered yet. With that in mind Allen tried to pay attention to the lesson, but kept getting distracted by Kanda, not that he was doing anything out of the ordinary.

Allen was just so happy that Kanda had agreed to go through the transformation, because now he had someone he could trust, and after all those years alone, that's really all that he needed.

The rest of the hour faded into a blur, he was completely lost after the first ten minutes, so he just spent the rest of the hour watching Kanda as he took very neat notes. A few times Kanda caught him staring, and a small smirk flitted across his face before he went back to his notes. When the period finally ended, Allen was packing up his things and Kanda came up behind him.

"You have no idea what's going on in this class, do you Moyashi?" As Kanda said it Allen turned around and blushed a light pink.

"No clue what so ever, but I'll figure it out," he answered with a smile.

**A/N: So there you have chapter eleven. I'm defiantly going to pick up the pace in the next couple of chapters. I only just realized that this is chapter eleven and that I haven't even gotten past day one of the story (Yikes). So expect some time jumps in the next couple of chapters, I know you're all dying to see what happens next.**

**Thanks for reading and please review. :)**


	12. Chapter 12 Conclusions

**A/N: Sorry I made all of you wait for this chapter, but I have to admit, the writer's block is starting to set in. On another note I feel like such a terrible person for this, but I'm putting this story on a month long hiatus, because I'm taking a trip abroad and I'm not taking my laptop, meaning I won't be able to post or type anything up. I will keep writing though, so I should have something new by the time this story starts up again. I'm sorry I had to do this to you, but it's honestly the best course of action for me and the story.**

**With that depressing news I hope you enjoy this chapter. By the way, Kanda and Allen may or may not be OOC in this chapter, I'm not really sure at the moment.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or the characters. I only own the plot, which is starting to get a little insane so.**

Chapter 12 Conclusions

As he began to lead the other boy through the hallway he listened to people as they started talking.

"Whoa it's Kanda, and he's with the new kid? I wonder what happened."

"Who's that white haired freak Kanda's toting around?"

"How the hell did the new kid get Kanda? I'm way prettier than that disgusting freak.

The comments made him furious, but Kanda managed to rein it in, he didn't want to explode and be late for class. Thinking of classes, he wasn't sure what the sprouts next class was, he'd just been walking in the direction of his own.

"What class do you have next?" Kanda asked coldly. He needed to replace his mask, or else have everyone see the confusion he was feeling. There was no way he'd let anyone see behind the ice when he was like this. He hated looking weak, because looking weak made him seem fragile, and that was something he most defiantly was not.

"Chemistry, Room 303, with Mr. Wenhemm." Was the Moyashi's response.

Kanda was very confused for a moment. By what the other boy was saying, they had Chemistry together, but the teacher's name sounded off. Kanda thought for a moment, trying to get his already frazzled mind to think of the explanation. When the answer finally came to him he wanted to hit himself for the utter stupidity he was displaying.

"Oh you mean Reever. He hates it when you call him Mr. Wenhemm," his response was a little flustered, he didn't want to look like an idiot, but his explanation proved he was a little on the slower side.

"Why is that?" the white haired boy asked, sounding confused.

"No one really knows, he just prefers it I guess. Kind of like I prefer to be called Kanda, damn Usagi." His nickname for Lavi just kind of slipped out, which wasn't a good thing, because now he'd have to explain to Allen who that was. Even so he was surprised when the white haired boy didn't inquire into his slip up, but he just let it slide. If the kid didn't want to know then he wouldn't bore him with the details.

The bell was just starting to ring when they finally made it to the chemistry lab, and Kanda knew right where Allen was going to sit, because once again the only empty chair was the seat right next to him, not that he minded having to sit next the Moyashi now.

Kanda totted him alone, keeping their hands connected as he led the smaller boy to the back of the room. When they sat down Reever walked in, ushering some of the later students to take their seats before he started class. Kanda was surprised that the chemistry teacher didn't notice Allen straight off, he was usually very perceptive, but perhaps he was only pretending to not notice Allen so that the first introductions would be a lot less awkward. Either way when the teacher finished writing something on the blackboard he turned around and his eyes wandered to where Allen was sitting.

Kanda felt Allen squirm a little under the teachers gaze, but noticed that the younger boy seemed a little more at ease then he had been in any of the other classes. Maybe this slight change was due to Kanda's new status as friend and secret keeper.

"So you're the new student everyone's been talking about. I'm Mr. Wenhemm, but please call me Reever. You're Allen Walker right?" Kanda noticed a minuscule difference in Reever's tone of voice. It was a little more soothing than usual, and the boredom within it seemed a little forced.

Allen's response was a little stuttered, and he seemed a little embarrassed at being identified so informally, but that's just that way that Reever was. Kanda reached over and gave the white haired boys hand a reassuring squeeze, it wouldn't do any good to have Allen fainting because of nerves.

With that Reever started the class, he didn't make Allen stand up and introduce himself, didn't insist on prying some tidbit of information about the boy out, he just went on with the lesson. Kanda could tell that the boy was relieved, being the new kid had to be hard, especially if you were as jittery as Allen.

Reever started to talk about organic chemistry, a subject that had always been confusing for Kanda, and yet somehow he managed to enjoy it. He paid attention to the lesson, because unlike his other classes, he actually had to do some work to understand what was going on. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the sprout had given up trying to take notes at all, opting for sneaking glances at him instead.

This fact made Kanda smirk ever so slightly, sure he'd had people stare at him, but none of them were as enticing, or adorable as the Moyashi. Wait, did he just call the sprout adorable? He shook himself, he would not allow himself to think like that with other people around, it would ruin his image as the jerk of the school. He tried to shift his focus back to Chemistry, but then the bell rang, and he was freed to go on to the last class of the school day.

Kanda quickly picked up his things, shoving them into his backpack, watching the way that Allen organized his books neatly, and put them away accordingly. When Kanda was done he walked up behind the white haired boy, making him jump a little as he asked a simple question.

"You really have no idea what you're doing in this class do you Moyashi?" The older teen was a little smug to see the light blush that adorned the youngers face. To think that a simple question like that could cause such a reaction in the boy's face was slightly comical.

"No clue what so ever, but I'll figure it out," Allen answered with a completely fake smile. That smile alone was enough to ruin Kanda's unusually good mood, because now that he knew just how much the white haired boy was hiding behind the smile they managed to infuriate him even more.

"Come on, let's go to your next class. Which is?" Kanda tried to keep the annoyance from seeping through, and managed pretty well considering how pissed off he was.

"Um, I think I have English now. What about you?" The sprouts voice was a little timid, obviously reacting to Kanda's annoyed tone.

"Gym," he said to the younger boy. Great, now he had to walk from one side of the school to the other in order to show the Moyashi where his class was. What a great way to end the school day, not.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen noticed a slight change in Kanda's tone and stance after he flashed a smile. Sure Allen knew it was totally fake, but no one had ever been able to tell the difference, even after all of the years of smiles and cheerfulness he didn't ever feel. Obviously, by Kanda's reaction, the older teen knew something was up, it was so different that the white haired boy had to suppress giving the other teen a startled expression.

Even so Allen was left wondering how it could've been so easy for Kanda to see past his smile. Which is when a thought hit him, if they were meant to find each other, it would only make sense that his other half would be able to see right through him. With that thought Allen was able to relax a little bit. Sure he'd have to make sure to limit the number of fake smiles he gave to the older teen, but all in all he was glad that someone was finally able to see past his mask for once.

Allen was led to his English class in relative silence, the only indication that Kanda was still paying attention to him was the constant feeling of the blue haired teen's hand in his. The white haired teen only wished that he could remove the glove that incased his hand, so that he could actually feel Kanda's skin beneath his fingertips. He couldn't do that though, Kanda may be the other phoenix, but as of that moment he was still more human than anything.

Hopefully that would all change this weekend if Kanda didn't back out on his promise, and for some reason Allen knew that he wouldn't. Sure the guy seemed like a jerk the first time they'd met, but in only a few short hours they'd become, for lack of a better term, partners and friends. The feeling of loneliness that had been following Allen around his entire life was finally gone, and he could thank the cold teen in front of him for that.

Allen got dropped off next to his English room, Kanda squeezing his hand lightly before giving explicit instructions to stay in the classroom until the older teen came to get him.

"And for the love of god please don't let Lavi drag you anywhere. He's about as hopeless with directions as a blind squirrel." Allen stared for a moment, did Kanda just try to make a joke? He couldn't ask though, because at that moment the long haired teen brought Allen's hand up to his lips, gently kissing the younger teens palm before turning around and walking away.

Allen stood there in total bliss for a few moments, before he heard an obviously forced cough behind him.

"So you and Kanda really hit it off didn't you?" Lenalee said from her spot behind Allen. A blush crept onto his cheeks, turning them a light pink in embarrassment as he faced the green haired girl.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Allen said, trying to pass it off as nothing.

"You guess? Honey, let me tell you something, Kanda's usually a cold hearted jackass, so him doing something like holding your hand and kissing it is a very, very big deal," Lenalee took his arm and walked him into the classroom with her, making him take the seat next to hers.

"Wait what do you mean?" Allen already knew what the girl was telling him, but honestly, was it that big a deal?

"What I mean is that ever sense Alma killed himself," Allen tried to look surprised at the information, but failed when she continued, "Don't act like you don't know, it's obvious that you went and found out when you ran off during lunch. Anyway after Alma killed himself, I'm not really sure how to explain it, but Kanda stopped touching people, casually of course. He hated being hugged, and even poking him to get his attention set him off. The only time he would initiate any kind of contact was when he was punching someone. So seeing him today, holding your hand, and having any kind of contact with a living breathing human is kind of shocking. So once again I'll ask, what's going on between you and Kanda?"

Man the girl was sharp, but obviously he couldn't come out and tell the truth, he'd look insane. So he settled for some half-truths, they would at least get Lenalee off his back for the moment.

"I see. Well I'm not really sure how it happened, but during the food fight I kind of fell... on top of Kanda, and well… we might've kissed, accidentally of course. He ran away, and I found him in the janitor's closet and asked him about Alma. He told me what happened, and now apparently he and I are…" he couldn't find the right word to finish the statement, but didn't have to because Lenalee piped up.

"Soul mates, you two are obviously soul mates." The girl was practically jumping up and down in excitement.

"What?" Allen asked once again surprised at how close the girl was to the truth.

"Well obviously you guys have something supernatural going on. You have only known each other a few hours and yet Kanda felt safe enough to tell you about what happened with Alma. He hasn't even told his family what happened that day, and I doubt he'll ever tell anyone else. You two obviously have something special going on between you. So is it that much of a stretch to think that you guys were meant for each other?" Lenalee sighed, looking at the ceiling dreamily.

"I guess you could be right." He had to at least throw the girl a bone, because she defiantly seemed like the type that would poke around if she thought something was up.

Thankfully after that Lenalee stopped talking, this allowed Allen to finally start paying attention to the class. Sadly he couldn't seem to take his mind off what the girl had said, was Kanda really that broken up about Alma? Well obviously Lenalee had known Kanda a lot longer, and was probably used to his behavior. Allen would have to have a very serious conversation with the girl about Kanda in the near future.

His thoughts wandered until the bell rang for the period to end. Allen packed up his things, and waited for Kanda, but after ten minutes he started to worry, so he went off in search of the other teen. It was because of this stupid action that he got lost, and found himself cornered in the basement of the school by a group of very large upperclassmen.

**A/N: Now I feel like an even bigger jerk for leaving the story this way before leave for a month, but that's just the way it happened. I'm sorry that I couldn't have done better, please don't hate me *avoids rotten vegetables*.**

**Please review and tell me what you're thinking. I'd love to see what you think.**


	13. Chapter 13 Problems

**A/N: I'm back! And the writer's block is gone! I feel so refreshed in this story that I was able to type up a whole chapter in like two hours, I was so proud of myself.**

**I would like to thank all of my faithful readers that said it was okay that I was going to be gone for a month, but I would really like to thank someone who either doesn't have an account, or was just too lazy to actually log in and post what they did.**

**The post read, "Go ahead fell like a jerk, leave it off there! MEANIE!" In all honesty this post hit me the hardest and made me feel more motivated to keep up writing. It may only make sense to me, but tough love is the kind I'm most used to so this really struck a chord. They may have just been joking, but I take it as truth.**

**Anyway, enjoy this next chapter after a month of waiting and please review and tell me what you think.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters.**

Chapter 13 Problems from Interesting Places

They finally made it to the Moyashi's English class, but for some reason Kanda didn't want to leave the smaller teen. He had a bad feeling, a sort of apprehension, but he couldn't pin point the source. He'd learned after the incident with Alma to not let his 'funny' feelings go ignored, but he really needed to get to class and the danger didn't seem to be anywhere around their spot next to the classroom.

"Now Moyashi, the Gym is on the other side of the school, but I don't want you to go anywhere until I come to pick you up, understand? I'll be here five minutes after the bell rings tops, so just wait up for me." That was going to be the end of the conversation, but his unease caused him to add a seemingly funny anecdote, which he couldn't explain if he tried. So he decided not to, opting instead to kiss the sprouts hand and then walk away. He'd deal with the repercussions later.

He noticed LenaLee standing a few feet away and gave her a gruff head nod. He knew that she saw what had just happened, and he also knew that she had English with the sprout, which would probably mean one hell of an interrogation. Kanda smirked, thank goodness he didn't have to deal with the girl, she could be a handful when she tried.

He walked down the halls, wondering what could've triggered his unease. Kanda had noticed that people where giving him looks when he walked with the sprout, but he couldn't seem to figure out why. He didn't think anyone would try to do anything because they were all scared of him, and what he might do to him. Sure he was only a Junior, but he'd managed to make a name for himself in the school.

His pondering stopped when he finally reached the gym, going into the locker rooms to change for the class. He really didn't want to change for such a pointless class, but the gym teacher insisted, so he had to or fail the class. So as he switched from jeans to gym shorts he was practically tackled by the one person he really didn't want to see, but knew he would because they just so happened to have gym together.

"Hey Kanda what's up with you?" Lavi asked from his position clinging to Kanda's back like a monkey.

"Lavi, get the fuck off of me, I don't want to deal with your annoying prodding today. Got it?" Kanda growled the words at his 'friend' and Lavi immediately let go, fearing Kanda's anger.

"Damn Kanda you're wound up pretty tight aren't you? What's got you so tense? It couldn't be Allen, could it?" Lavi asked in a teasing tone, one he used a lot, because he always knew he was right.

"Shut up Baka Usagi, you don't know anything. Besides shouldn't you be changing for gym?" Kanda really wanted to get away from the beansprout as a topic of conversation, in only brought back his feeling of unease.

"Nope I don't have to change. Got a pass out of gym from the school nurse because of that punch you gave me earlier. By the way, Lenalee's pissed about that, so I wouldn't go near her for a few days." Lavi reached his arms up stretching lazily while Kanda changed his shirt.

"Che, whatever, you brought that upon yourself you know. Let's get to class, you may have a get-out-of-class free card, but if I'm late I'll get my ass chewed out." Kanda headed out into the gym, listening as Lavi followed him.

When they finally got into the gym everyone was lined up along the edge of the basketball court, watching as their gym teacher, a massive woman by the name of Mrs. Darling took attendance.

"Yu Kanda you're late, and so are you Lavi Bookmen. You'll both have to stay after class to clean up."

Kanda shot daggers in Lavi's direction, if that idiot hadn't held him up in the locker room, the Japanese teen wouldn't have been late, and therefor he wouldn't have had to stay for an extra ten minutes at the end of class. This development really threw his plans to get Allen from English, now instead of being five minutes after the bell, he'd probably be fifteen. He only hoped that Allen had the sense to wait for him, and not go wandering around the school.

The weird uneasy feeling was back, and Kanda tried to push it aside while they played basketball in gym, but he couldn't get rid of it, and his focus suffered because of it. Every time he would get the ball, someone was always able to snatch it away before he'd even moved two feet. Usually he'd be dominating the court, totally in control of everything that happened, but today he had no game what so ever. His team saw this after the first five minutes and pulled him out so they at least had a shot of winning.

While Kanda sat down on the partially opened bleachers Lavi walked over and took a seat next to him.

"What's wrong Yu? Your games really off today and you seem really preoccupied." Lavi looked a little concerned, which was surprising considering his usual happy go lucky attitude.

"First off don't call me that, and second I'm fine, it's nothing you need to worry about." Kanda couldn't look at Lavi, because for some reason Lavi was almost always able to read him and tell when he was lying.

The red head leaned back in his seat, putting his arms behind his head and letting a slow smile spread across his face, "It's Allen isn't it? The reason you can't focus today, it's because something happened with you and Allen. I heard some rumors going around, but when I heard they were about you I didn't really believe them. One girl said she saw you and Allen walk out of a janitor's closet together, looking a little roughed up, is that true?"

Kanda knew Lavi wouldn't give up until he was given some kind of answer, and lying was out of the question because the red head could usually see right through him, "Yes it's true, but it's not what you think. Nothing happened, he just wanted to know about Alma, that's all."

Lavi gave him a skeptical looked, before nodding his head, "If that's all you're going to tell me I'm not going to pry. I know that if I try you'll probably end up punching me again. Either way good luck with Allen, you deserve someone special."

Kanda was going to come back with some witty retort, but at that moment the bell rung, signaling the end of classes for the day. He stayed and helped clean up the gym, putting basketballs back in their proper places and using the hydraulics system to put the hoops in their proper spots snuggled up against the ceiling.

He rushed into the locker rooms and changed as quickly as possible, barely pulling on his shirt before walking into the hallways. He looked at his watch, it was only two minutes after the time he told Allen he would be there, so he let himself relax a little, there's no way the Moyashi could get himself into trouble so quickly. This thought was stopped dead in its tracks when Kanda saw the pile up of electronic equipment and students in the middle of the main school hallway.

Apparently some teacher had tripped while pushing a cart with a projector on it. The cart had rolled into a few students, pushing them down on the floor and causing the whole thing to fall on top of them. The projector was one of those ancient ones from the 1980's so it was heavy, and needed to be lifted by at least two people. So in other words the hallway was completely blocked off, and Kanda couldn't get though, so he had to go around, adding another three minutes to his commute.

By this time Kanda was practically running to the English wing, his anxiety levels were through the roof, and he knew something bad was going to happen. He finally made it the beansprouts class room, but no one was there, the room was completely empty and the hallways were nearly deserted. Kanda couldn't find Allen anywhere.

This was a very bad sign.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen didn't know how he'd gotten there, but he'd managed to get himself trapped in the basement of the school, completely surrounded by a group of girls. Yes they were all girls, each one prettier then the next, all of them wearing very nasty smiles and looking very pissed off.

Allen didn't know what to do, sure he'd gotten into fights before, but they had always been with other guys, this was his first time being ambushed by a bunch of girls. He guessed he'd just have to wait it out and do whatever he needed to do in order to stay safe. He couldn't risk revealing himself to such a large group of people, so he had to be careful to only use as much power as was needed to defuse the situation.

He really wished Kanda was there, it seemed that whenever the angry teen was around no one dared to cross him, giving Allen a sense of safety he hadn't felt ever in his life. Sadly Kanda wasn't here right now, Allen's stupidity had led him away from the safety of the class room, and into the dangerous area where few people would see or hear anything.

Another thing to be scared of was that Allen was a new student, which meant that very few people would notice his absence should something happen to him. Oh god why did this always have to happen? It wasn't like he went looking for fights, and he honestly didn't understand why these girls were so mad, that was until he started listening to the words.

"… How did you manage to catch Kanda's eye? I've been trying for months and he doesn't even look my way. I'm so much prettier then you are, you're just a freak." A pretty blond said the words, her tone and the nastiness behind it didn't match her pretty face at all.

"I say we rough him up a bit so he remembers that Kanda did this to him by liking him instead of us." This was said by a brunette, slightly less pretty then the blond, but still pretty enough to be poplar. A couple of heads nodded in agreement, and the circle advanced to where Allen was standing.

They were just a group of girls, and Allen's mind couldn't really process what they would be able to do to him. Even so he got into a defensive stance and prepared for the worst.

They all rushed him at once, coming at all different angles so he couldn't dodge or block them all. One grabbed his hair and started pulling, tearing free strands of silver with the force. Another clawed at his shirt, ripping little slits into the fabric, which steadily grew larger as more girls tore at his shirt, trying to leave marks on his body. A couple of other girls were mercilessly punching him in the gut and in the face, drawing blood from his mouth and nose, as well as leaving bruises on his torso and back.

He let them do it, there was no point in fighting back. They would extract their revenge and then leave him to wallow in his pain. Little did they know that his healing ability would kick in as soon as they stopped assaulting his body and he would be totally fine in a matter of hours. Sure he'd have to act as if he was hurt for a few days, but that was nothing compared to the aggravation he was feeling concerning the fact that he couldn't do anything to stop this.

Well he could to something, but it would result in a lot of harm to these people, and he couldn't bring himself to hurt someone else intentionally, even if they were beating the crap out of him. That and trying to explain what had happened would be almost impossible, there weren't very many ways to explain how non-existent fire managed to burn so many people.

He momentarily noticed that he'd fallen to the ground, until a sharp kick to his head made his eyes blurry, causing him to see spots. Apparently his not fighting back was angering the girls more, and they mercilessly beat on him. Another kick landed on his chest, causing something to snap, most likely a rib, making it harder to breath. He need to stop this before it got much worse, he had healing abilities, but if he sustained too much damage at once he would die.

With that in mind he tried to stand up, getting on hands and knees in order to push himself up. He didn't make it far before one of the girls stepped on his left arm, breaking the bone and making Allen cry out in pain. He fell back onto the ground, and resigned himself to his fate, giving up fighting because he had no strength left.

He would rather die here then at the hands of the Noah anyway, so why not just let these girls do whatever they want. It was sad that just after he found his other half this was happening. This was the first time in almost a century that he'd actually managed to find the other phoenix before the Noah, and Allen had thought that perhaps this was the reincarnation that was going to finally get rid of that group of evil bastards. That, was apparently not the case. He let a few tears escape for Kanda, the person he was destined to be with, but never really got a chance to know.

After that a sharp kick to his back broke his spine, resulting in him being unable to move from his waist down. He apparently passed out after that, letting the darkness claim him with only one thought on his mind.

"I'm sorry Kanda…."

**A/N: Well there you have it, the next chapter. I have to say that I like the suspense I was able to create, I'm feeling rather smug right now.**

**Feel free to review and either boost my ego or knock me off my high horse. Either or I don't really care.**


	14. Chapter 14 Surviving

**A/N: Oh your reviews for last chapter were really amusing to me, even though the last chapter was far from amusing. Even so, perhaps this chapter will make up for me being a total jerk to Allen, although probably not. My only hope is that you will enjoy this next chapter, because guess who comes and saves the day, more or less.**

**So please enjoy the chapter and review when you're done.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or the characters, sorry.**

Chapter 14 Surviving

Kanda ran down the hallways, peering into all of the class rooms and closets in search of his Moyashi. Damn that kid, he couldn't have just waited a few extra minutes for Kanda to come pick him up? Was it so hard to follow simple instructions? Kanda's anxiety levels were through the roof at the moment, and all he wanted to do was find Allen safe and sound in his arms. When he'd become so sentimental didn't really matter right now, all the Japanese teen knew was that if the Noah had found Allen they were both screwed.

He knew he should've listened to his instincts before, but it was too late to regret not acting upon them. From now on, he wouldn't let his feelings just pass him by, it was obviously too dangerous to not keep someone in the loop. As he raced down the hallway he heard a muffled gasp, and stopped dead in his tracks. It was Allen, he was sure of it, even though he didn't really understand how he was sure.

He sped through the hallways in the direction of the noise, finally coming upon the stairs that led to the basement. There were very few things running through his head at that moment, the most prominent being the need to help his Moyashi, but there was another one that couldn't help but see the irony in his situation. It was in this same portion of the school that incident with Alma had happened, and now something was going wrong with Allen, in the same spot within the school.

Kanda shook his head free of the thought, that wasn't going to save Allen from whatever harm he was in right now. He raced down the stairs and stealthily crept along the hallway, he could hear evidence of a fight, and when walking into a fight it was always good to have the upper hand. So he made his way down the hall, finally coming onto a scene that made his blood boil.

A group of girls, all more bitchy then the next were mercilessly beating on Allen, who was curled up in a fetal position on the floor. He stood shell shocked for a moment, not knowing what to do, watching in horror as Allen took one sharp blow after another. Why wasn't he fighting back? The sprout definitely had the skill and power to blow away all of the girls that were beating on him, so why didn't he use it?

It was then that something Allen said on the roof came back to him, "I usually feel really bad when I burn someone…" The damn soft hearted fool was too afraid of hurting the people who were causing him immense pain. Kanda shook his head, this was turning from a good day, to one he would remember for the rest of his life.

Kanda waited and tried to see and opening in the mob that surrounded Allen, trying to find a weakness he could exploit to get the beansprout out of the mess. He couldn't seem to find one though, and his mind raced with all of the possible outcomes of him just rushing in. He could end up just like Allen, lying on the floor getting the crap beat out of him, or he could try to defuse the situation, which really wasn't something he usual did.

His thinking stopped abruptly when he heard a loud snap, and as Kanda looked down he watched as Allen went lip, eyes rolling up into the back of his head. They'd broken his spine. Those bitches had broken the boy's spine, and they were still pounding mercilessly into his body. It was that fact that sent Kanda off the deep end, his anger boiling over until he couldn't control it anymore.

He rushed into the center of the mob, pushing people out of the way and into others and kneeling next to the white haired boy on the floor. As soon as he broke through the swarm of girls a spell seemed to have broken and they all snapped out of their crazed states to finally realize what they'd done.

"Oh my god, is he dead?" One of the girls asked, her voice shaking a little.

"Shut the fuck up and let me check you whore," Kanda spat back while he lifted Allen's head onto his lap.

"_Don't let him be dead, please, hang in there Moyashi," _his thoughts practically screamed while he checked for a pulse, a heartbeat, anything that would prove that Allen was still alive.

He relaxed a little when he saw the faint up and down movement of Allen chest, and felt a very light pulse beneath his fingertips. The relief was short lived however, because anger quickly rushed in to take its place. Putting Allen's head back on the ground Kanda stood up, his fury coming off of him in waves.

"Get out now," he growled between clenched teeth.

"But Kanda we were doing this for you, so you could forget about that ridiculous loser and move on." One girl said in a rather nasty tone of voice. She was the first one to taste Kanda's fist as he aimed a punch right at her face. He felt cartilage break under his knuckles and listened to the satisfying crunch of a broken bone as he smashed her nose in. The girl passed out from the sheer force of the blow, and dropped like a sack of potatoes in the middle of the group.

"Anyone else want to say this was for me?" Kanda watched as all of the remaining girls shook their heads in unison. "Then get the fuck out of here before I beat the shit out of you, just like you did to him. And take your trash with you." He pointed to the one whose nose was broken and turned around, tending to Allen now that some of his anger was sated.

The white haired boy was in bad shape, Kanda knew that if he didn't wake up soon, there was a possibility that the Moyashi could go into a coma. The Japanese teen didn't know much about medical care, but he did know that if he took Allen to a hospital it would not end well. First off there was Allen's temperature, which was unnaturally high, then there was the fact that some of the minor cuts and scrapes that he'd received had already started to heal. The most Kanda could think to do was hold the other teen until he woke up, so he gently placed Allen's head onto his lap idly petting the feathery light hair on top of his head.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

All Allen could see was black. There were no other colors, and the darkness seemed to envelope him in an almost comforting blanket. Was he dead? This didn't seem to coincide with everything he'd ever read or heard about dying. Where was the light at the end of the tunnel? Where were the pearly gates?

Allen tried to move, but found that he couldn't, his body seemed totally useless to him at the moment. It wasn't like there was anywhere to go to, the inky blackness was everywhere, and it didn't look as though it stopped. So Allen gave up trying to move, it was pointless so why waste the energy.

Instead he started thinking, because even though he was immobile he could still think freely. The thoughts that invaded his mind were not the type that he usually liked to entertain, sad thoughts that only made his life seem worse.

Questions like "Is Kanda really the one?" and "Did I make the right choice?" Things like love and destiny seemed trivial at the moment, because if he really was dead they didn't even matter anymore. However if he wasn't dead, a slight possibility, but a possibility none the less, then these things needed to be brought to the surface, before something else happened. These things were something that he really didn't want to address and they were coming out. So Allen had to deal with them or be suffocated by the uncertainty of it all.

So why had he picked Kanda, besides the obvious reasons that they could be soul mates? He barely even knew the guy, so why did his heart seem to yearn for that annoyingly familiar ice cold presence? How was it possible that two complete opposites, two people who were like night and day to each other, could fit so well together?

Allen didn't know, but in his heart he understood that despite their obvious differences they were the same inside. They'd both experienced loss, and heartache, and were both broken up by the fact that they couldn't do anything to save the person they loved. It wasn't much of a connection, but it was enough to warrant digging deeper, to actually try and find out what made them so similar.

His head was starting to hurt, all of the thoughts crowding his brain were too much to handle. So he let them go, one at a time until his mind was completely blank, which is when he heard it.

A deep voice was humming a song that Allen had only heard a handful of times in his short life, but it was a song he seemed to know by heart. He gently opened his eyes, afraid to see that he actually had died and that he was in heaven, or where ever phoenix go in between reincarnations. His gaze was met with a completely different sight, one that he would both cherish and remember forever. He could see Kanda's hair, the blue-black tresses floating silently in a slight breeze, and he could also see Kanda's face, the worry etched into ever line, and the faraway look in his eyes, as though he was trying not to think about what was happening.

The song wove its way through Allen's head, the melody coming in a whisper of a memory, and the words falling into place like dominos. The white haired boy started humming along, letting the music fill him like it usually did, and wondering how it was that Kanda knew the song too. It didn't really matter at the moment, because as he started singing the words everything seemed to fall into place. Kanda continued humming in a deep baritone, and the soft tenor of Allen's voice fit in perfectly.

Allen felt lost in the music for a moment, before Kanda finally looked down at him, showing concerned eyes of cobalt. The magic of the music broke, but the intensity of their locked gazes was only just beginning to blossom, and they stayed like that for a moment, each wondering the same thing.

"How does he know that song?" their eyes seemed to relay, and the answer hit Allen first. It was the song of the phoenix, ancient and long forgotten by the people of the world, remaining dormant in the minds of each phoenix generation until there was a time it was needed. Perhaps it would surface in a time of mourning or loss, or maybe it would appear in a time of happiness and joy. Either way, it seemed to be a final test of sorts for Kanda. For him to know this song, he had to be the other phoenix, because no one else would even understand it's meaning, or actually be able to hear the words.

"How do you know that song?" Kanda asked, seemingly bewildered by the turn of events, "I've only ever heard it..."

"In your head." Allen finished, knowing the feeling of listening to something no one else could hear, and smiling slightly at the new turn of events.

"How did you know?" Kanda almost whispered it in amazement, and the white haired boy had to really focus to catch the words.

"I hear it to," he confessed, "It's just more proof that you and I are meant to be." He tried to smile, but at that moment an intense flash of pain wracked his entire frame, making him grimace in pain.

This was what he expected, but taking a short mental inventory of his body he realized that he couldn't move his legs, and that his back hurt to the point that it was almost unbearable. His spine was no doubt broken, but his body would heal it one way or another. Meaning that if he didn't get it put back in place soon, his body would heal it improperly and he would be crippled for life. He needed Kanda's help now more than ever, and thankfully no one was around to witness what was about to unfold.

Walking Kanda through the motions Allen started to tell him how to realign his spine so that it could heal properly. Allen knew that fixing the problem was going to hurt like hell, and he really didn't want to show Kanda how much pain he was actually in, but there was nothing else he could do. He needed Kanda there to fix his body, or else he was going to be next to useless.

When Kanda had finally located the break, Allen had to tell him what to do. This had happened before actually, Road had once beaten him so severely that his spine had broken in multiple places. Thankfully the leader of the Noah, the Millennium Earl, had wanted him in good enough shape to be tortured more, so the man had fixed Allen's back himself. Which is how he'd come by the knowledge to fix his currently broken spine, something he was passing onto Kanda in a moment of desperation.

As soon as Kanda had found something for him to bite on, the Japanese man set about following instructions, pushing multiple vertebras back into place in Allen's spinal column. With every pop and crack Allen screamed in agony, the pain would've been too much for any normal person to bear, but he'd been tortured by some of the most ruthless people on the face of the earth, this was nothing compared to that.

When Kanda was done, Allen could feel his spinal cord begin to piece itself back together, and he exhaled a shaky breath, trying to regain his composure and halt the tears that had started to fall.

"Are you okay, Moyashi?" Kanda looked into Allen's eyes, which the white haired boy had to school to show anything but the pain he was feeling.

"I'm better, and thank you Kanda." Allen felt the words barely slip out before he was knocked back into unconsciousness by the waves of pain that had taken over his body.

**A/N: And so another chapter concludes, I hope you enjoyed it, and please review and tell me what you think.**


	15. Chapter 15 The Pain of Healing

**A/N: So I feel kind of bad, right now. I had this chapter typed up days ago, but couldn't seem to find the time to edit it. Honestly it was starting to drive me insane, which is probably the reason for my insomnia right now. **

**Either way, here's the next chapter and I hope you like it. Please review when you're done. :)**

**Before you start reading, you should probably be warned that there's a kind of gross scene where Kanda's fixing Allen's back. It's not as bad as some of the stuff I've put into this story, but it's still pretty disgusting.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray Man or any of the characters featured in this fan fiction.**

Chapter 15 The Pain of Healing

Kanda held Allen for almost an hour, and he kept getting more and more worried as time passed. There had to be something he could do to wake the sprout up, but at the moment he couldn't think of anything. So he started humming to himself, it was a melody that had been stuck in his head since he was a child, constantly repeating whenever he would need comfort. At that moment he was majorly freaking out, so it seemed like the best thing to do to get his nerves back in some kind of order. So he hummed, letting the music finally be heard by ears other than his own.

He was so caught up in the song that he didn't really notice when Allen opened his eyes, the younger teen looking bewildered until he understood the situation. After a moment Kanda finally noticed, but that was because the sprout had started to hum along, as if he'd heard the song a thousand times before. The white haired teen's voice started to sing the words, it was a language that neither of them seemed to understand, but even so the words worked to calm both of them.

When the song finished Kanda looked into his Moyashi's eyes, a question clearly evident on his face. "How do you know that song? I've never heard it before except…"

"In your head," Allen completed the thought for him, a small smile creeping onto the young face.

"How do you know that?" Kanda asked in amazement, wondering just how much of himself was laid bare by just simply talking to this strange boy.

"I hear it too, it's just more proof that you and I are meant to be." Allen started to smile, but pain flashed across his features as he tried to move.

"What's wrong?" Kanda asked, uncharacteristically worried about the beansprout.

"My spine, it's still broken, if it doesn't get set back into place it won't heal right, and I won't be able to move my legs anymore." There was a hint of fear in the words, and Kanda noticed that Allen had started to shake.

"Don't worry I'll fix it, just walk me through what I need to do to help you." Kanda put Allen back on the ground, being careful not to jostle him too much as he stepped back a step to examine the damage better.

"Well first you need to lay me on my stomach, so you can get to resetting my spine…."

As Allen gave each instruction Kanda tried to keep his mind focused on the words, and not what he was doing to the Moyashi's body. After laying him on his stomach Kanda had to locate the break, meaning he had to move his hand down Allen's spine until he found the place where the vertebra didn't match up. He found it about three fourths of the way down the white haired boy's back, and was instructed to relay ever thing that he saw back to the teen on the floor.

"Well I can't really see much, but there's something protruding from your spinal column. I'd say its a few vertebra that have popped out. They're all at really strange angles though, so I'm not sure how they should fit back into place." Kanda spoke the information with his voice quivering slightly. There was no way he was qualified to do any of this, but he couldn't really take Allen to a hospital for some very obvious reasons.

Allen was panting ever so slightly, obviously in pain from something other than his back. Kanda could only guess that the younger teen had some cracked ribs to go along with his spinal injury. Sadly they were the least of his worries at the moment.

"Okay this should be easy enough then, I need you to push each of them back into my spinal column. Start from the highest one and work your way down. Before you do it I'm going to need something to bite on so I don't scream out. Do you understand Kanda? This is going to hurt me like hell, but if you don't go through with this there is a very high chance that I will never be able to walk again." Allen's tone was all business, but there was a hint of trust and a little fear behind them. Kanda felt a little touched, that Allen would trust him enough to do this showed just how far their quickly growing relationship reached.

Kanda rifled around in his bag to find something for the sprout to bite on, and settled on a pair of soft leather gloves that he used during the winter time. He knew it wasn't the best option, but it would do. He made sure that Allen had a firm grip on them with his teeth before hurrying back around to Allen's back.

The Japanese teen was shaking slightly, worried that he would screw something up and permanently damage the poor boy lying on the floor. He heard Allen make a muffled sound, obviously telling him to just do it, and get it over with. So he put his hands on the top most popped vertebra and pushed, hearing sickening cracking sounds as he pushed it back into place.

Allen let out a strangled cry, and it took all of Kanda's concentration to ignore the sound and continue with his work. Working his way down the blue haired teen had to fight back bile that rose in his throat as he listened to the disgusting crunch of bones being pushed back into place. When he finally made it to the last one, Kanda's hands were shaking so bad that he had to focus to make them stop. While he calmed himself enough to finish, he noticed how the sprout's body was shaking uncontrollably, he also saw the tears that streamed down the teens face.

Kanda hated to see all the pain the boy was in, and as he popped the last vertebra in he slumped into himself, wondering why helping the boy had to hurt him as well. That was just the give and take of life it seemed, and no one could gain anything without first giving something in return. Allen had traded pain for healing, something that had benefits and detriments. The Japanese teen saw that the beansprout had once again slipped into unconsciousness, but this time he was a little less worried about the small teen.

While idly rubbing the white haired teen's back Kanda let the guilt hit him full on. This had all been his fault after all. If he had followed his instincts and stayed with Allen none of this would've happened. The girls had done this for him, and no matter how twisted their logic was, that thought still struck home. He could never forgive himself for putting the sprout, his sprout, in danger like that, and these thoughts only furthered his resolve to go through the change.

He would be able to protect Allen, even if it killed him.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

When Allen finally woke up, he could already tell that a majority of his body had been healed, which meant he must've been out for a few hours at least. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that he wasn't in the basement of the school anymore, instead he seemed to be laying on a couch in a very nicely furnished living room. There were paintings all around the room, and even the occasional sculpture here and there. All of the paintings were different, different styles of painting, different colors, and different scenes. A few of them had people posing, a women lying in the grass, a man watching a river flowing below him while he stood on top of a bridge, and even one that looked like Kanda, sitting on an ornate white bench surrounded by flowers of all different kinds.

The white haired teen stood up, making sure not to jostle anything that was still healing, and walked over to the painting that had caught his eye. The person in the picture really did look like Kanda, they had the same oriental features, and silky blue-black hair. The person's eyes were closed, but Allen could almost picture a pair of startling, ice cold, cobalt eyes looking at the sky. He didn't know how long he took examining the picture, but he was brought out of his thoughts by an obviously forced cough.

"I see you like the artwork," a man with a mop of gray hair, and glasses commented.

"Yes, it's very interesting. Who is the person in this one?" Allen asked, feeling immediately at ease in this man's presence.

"That would be my son, Yu. He makes a very good model when I can actually get him to sit down for more than a few moments," The man gave a little chuckle while eyed the now gapping Allen.

"I'm not your son, you old fool," a voice that Allen recognized said from another room.

"Well you live in my house, and I've raised you since you were a child, so I think I have a right to call you my son," the man said, pushing up his glasses with a little frown.

At that moment Kanda walked into the room carrying a tray that had three cups of steaming tea. Allen watched as the Japanese teen placed the tray on the coffee table and came over to stand in front of the white haired boy's small frame.

"Are you okay Moyashi? You had me scared for a while there." Kanda reached up to touch Allen's face, but thought better of it and settled for a comforting hand of the boys shoulder.

"I'm fine now thanks, but where exactly am I?" Allen gave a little sheepish grin, he had an idea of where he was, but didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

"You're in my house," Kanda said matter-of-factly, "And that crazy old man is Master Tiedoll, my legal guardian."

"Yu, while in my house I insist that you call me father, not master," Tiedoll pouted for a moment before Kanda shoot him a glare.

"You are not my father you crazy old man, so I won't call you that. And stop using my first name, you know I hate that." Kanda's words were harsh, but not to the normal extent. It appeared as though he actually did care about this man in his own way.

Allen tried to ease some of the tension by addressing Tiedoll in his most gentlemanly manner, "You have a lovely home Mister Tiedoll. It's no wonder Kanda grew to be such a fine man under your care."

That seemed to put a few feathers in Tiedoll's cap, and when Kanda sighed in defeat, giving a slight look of annoyance to the white haired boy. Allen gave his most innocent smile back, but it quickly fell when he started to feel a little dizzy. He sat down on the couch and tried to regain his bearings, shaking his head a few times as though that would stop the world spinning.

Kanda was at his side in a second, "Is everything okay Moyashi? What's wrong? It's not your back again is it?"

The worry in Kanda's voice was almost cute, but Allen knew that if he said anything Kanda would firmly deny it, and the older teen would probably get very angry. So he stayed silent for a moment, watching as everything started to come back into focus around him. Tiedoll had a look of concern on his face, it was pretty obvious that he didn't know exactly what had happened, but he had a pretty good idea. Even so, Allen pulled himself from looking at Tiedoll to stare into a pair of cobalt eyes that showed some small hint of fear.

"I'm fine, just a dizzy spell, nothing to worry about," Allen smiled reassuringly and he could see Kanda relax ever so slightly. He then turned back to Tiedoll, wondering how much Kanda had told the man.

"You gave us all quiet a scare young man. Yu was practically in tears when he brought you in here. May I ask exactly what happened?" Tiedoll's voice had an air of authority, it was a voice he'd heard many times for his Master. There were very few options when that voice was used, either tell the truth, all of it, or face the consequences of lying. Allen had learned from a young age that telling the truth was infinitely better than going through the punishment for not. So he took a deep breath, ready to launch into his very truthful, very strange explanation.

Before he could get very far, Kanda's voice stopped him, "Before you say anything Moyashi, I have to tell you that Master Tiedoll is opened to almost anything. He will believe you with minimal proof, so don't do anything too drastic just to prove your telling the truth. Do you understand that?"

Allen shook his head in the affirmative, before beginning his tale for the second time in one day.

**A/N: Yay, we finally met Tiedoll, and it was really awkward. Right now I'm laughing my butt off because I honestly can't believe this is still one freaking day inside the story. It makes me feel like I'm moving incredibly slow, and I feel like a jerk, because I personally hate it when authors do that. Oh well can't really be helped, perhaps in the next chapter or so I'll have a gigantic time jump so we can finally get to the weekend and see what happens.**

**Thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	16. Chapter 16 The Day Ends

**A/N: So happy to finally have this chapter up, took me a while to finish it, and I'm not going to bore you with the details as to why. Be forewarned, Kanda's getting more and more out of character as this story goes on, although he still retains some of his jerkiness, and his anger, and his fierce need to protect people is still there.**

**Thank you for reading and please review when you're done, I'd love you lots if you did.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters, in case you didn't already know.**

Chapter 16 The Day Ends

Kanda sat and watched Allen's rhythmic breathing for a couple of minutes before deciding that they needed to move. They couldn't stay in the school for very much longer, someone would find them eventually, and in all honesty, Kanda didn't want to try and explain what had happened. After waiting for another fifteen minutes, the Japanese teen deemed it safe enough to move Allen's still healing body.

He wasn't sure if that was a good idea, but at the moment Kanda knew that Allen needed to be taken somewhere safe. The only place he could think of at the moment was his apartment, the one he shared with his legal guardian, General Tiedoll. There were going to be a lot of questions, true, but Tiedoll was more likely to believe the truth, which was a much better defense than half-thought-out lies. So he picked Allen up and carried him bridal style, making sure not to move his body too much, and started the four block walk back to his apartment building.

He got a few interesting looks, but no one seemed interested enough to actually stop him and ask why he was carrying an unconscious boy. That was probably for the better, because there was no way he was going to be able to come up with a good lie at the moment, and no one was going to actually believe the truth. So he walked, past a park with children playing and down the streets until he finally made it to his building.

The apartment building was nice, actually you could probably describe it as very nice, especially considering Tiedoll's profession. The old man was an artist, one of the best in the country, if not the world, but you couldn't really tell by looking at him. As Kanda boarded the elevator and pushed the button for floor number 7 he heard a voice that wasn't very welcome at the moment.

"Oh Yu, I see you're back from school. A little late aren't we, and you didn't even call to tell me," an older man with gray hair and glasses joined Kanda on the elevator just before the door closed.

Kanda didn't bother answering, they were going to the same place after all, so he could answer all of the old man's annoying questions as soon as the Moyashi was lying down and resting. Tiedoll seemed to get the hint, not saying a word about the white haired boy in the Japanese teen's arms until they were off the elevator and safely inside their apartment. When Allen was finally placed on the couch, Kanda turned and faced his guardian, ready to answer the questions the old man obviously had.

"Who is he and what happened to him?" Tiedoll's voice had lost the coddling aspect and seemed very businesslike, however there was still a trace of concern.

"His name is Allen Walker and he's a new student at the school. He got the shit beat out of him by a group of girls," Kanda deadpanned, trying to keep all the emotions out of his voice.

"And the reason for that was…?" The older man asked, obviously wanting a truthful answer.

Kanda sighed, "It was my fault really, I showed interest in the kid and a good portion of the popular girls at school got jealous. Before you ask, I can't tell you why I'm attracted to him, it's complicated and the reason is something he's going to have to tell you."

Kanda turned his head to look at the Moyashi, totally unaware of the concern showing in his eyes and the tenseness of his shoulders. These small changes were not missed by Tiedoll though, and he smiled knowingly.

"_The boy has finally found someone new…"_ he thought with a small smile. He rounded off that thought with the answer to the unasked question in the room, "He can stay here tonight if he wants to, he looks pretty beat up, and I can't let him go home in that condition. If he wants to he can stay in the guest bedroom, but I don't want you sneaking into his room in the middle of the night, he needs his rest."

There was a slight twinkle in Tiedoll's eyes, he was glad Kanda had finally found someone, and he had no problems with homosexuality, but he was a parent after all. Kanda looked up at Tiedoll with gratitude and almost new respect for the man he already held in such high esteem. The blue haired teen knew that he could trust his guardian with anything, although he usually didn't like to be brought so low as to ask Tiedoll for help.

"Thank you Master Tiedoll, I'm going to go make some tea for when he wakes up," Kanda said, hurrying off in the direction of the kitchen before Tiedoll could call him back and ask more questions. As he entered the kitchen he heard Tiedoll mumble something, but couldn't make out the words.

He set about making the tea, switching on the electric kettle and grabbing three cups from the cupboard. He opened another cabinet and inspected the different boxes of teas, wondering which one the sprout would like. He settled on an herbal green tea, rationalizing that everyone drinks green tea, grabbing three teabags from the box and throwing them into the waiting cups.

By this time, the water was boiled and Kanda could hear voices out in the living room. He didn't want to be left out of the conversation, for all he knew Tiedoll could be telling some embarrassing story about Kanda when he was younger, running around with a wooden sword and trying to cut things with the blunt edge. Kanda shook his head, there was no way in hell he would let that information be spilt, so he hurriedly finished brewing the tea and set the cups on a tray.

He walked in just in time to hear Tiedoll talking about his 'son' Yu, which set his nerves on edge a bit. Sure Tiedoll had raised him from a child, but they'd never really shared the bond of a father and son, a fact that was defiantly due to Kanda's icy personality. Every time Tiedoll would even mention Kanda as his son, the boy would quickly deny it, and now was no exception.

Once that was out of the way, Kanda set the tray down on the coffee table, walking over the where Allen was standing looking at a painting that Tiedoll had done years before. It was of Kanda when he was about fourteen, and the only reason he'd even posed for such a ridiculous picture was because Tiedoll had asked for it as a birthday present. As far as requests went, it had seemed pretty simple, but four hours and a lot of grumbling later, Kanda had vowed to never model for another painting, ever. The boy in the painting had all of the same features of the present day teen, but there seemed to be a more innocent quality to his face, this was only a few years before Alma had become a fixture in his life, and the happiness and tranquility of the face seemed almost unreal to the blue haired teen. That was old news though, something from the past that only seemed to dredge up memories of a time before he'd been broken.

Kanda looked at the Moyashi, checking his face for any signs of pain or discomfort, "Are you okay Moyashi? You had me scared for a while there."

He could tell that his voice wasn't normal, laced with caring and concern, but he didn't really care. There was no one else around besides himself, his charge, and his guardian, so letting his walls down for even a moment didn't seem like a bad idea. He reached out a hand to brush a stray strand of hair out of Allen's face, but stopped mid action, remembering what had happened earlier when he'd touched Allen's skin. Instead he settled on resting a hand on the boy's shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

Kanda really wasn't very much good at interacting with actual people, so his social skills were a little lack luster. Even so he tried, and it didn't hurt that everything he did with the Moyashi, holding his hand, running a hand down his arm, kissing him, everything, just felt so right, no matter where they were.

The Japanese teen noticed as Allen leaned a little into his touch as the smaller boy replied, stating he was fine, and asking where they were, as if that wasn't obvious. Kanda was quick to answer the question, throwing in an introduction of his legal guardian while he was at it. A mini argument ensued, but Kanda wasn't really feeling in the mood for a fight with the old man, so he just stated his reasoning and moved on, watching the beansprout carefully for some kind of weakness, or pain.

He was busy studying Allen, so he missed the obvious complement to Tiedoll, but he was paying attention enough to know that Tiedoll was obviously very pleased. Kanda managed to shoot the white haired boy an annoyed look before the boy became a little unstable, sitting back down on the couch with a small thump.

Kanda was at the boy's side in an instant, for all he knew the kid had a concussion to go with all of his other injuries. He knew his assumption was probably right when Allen started shaking his head back and forth, obviously trying to rid his head of something. Asking if it was his back, just to be sure, gave him proof that he was almost defiantly correct about the concussion theory. Kanda felt himself relax, thanking Allen's healing abilities fervently.

After all of this Tiedoll apparently wanted his answers, so, much to the annoyance of his 'child', he asked Allen exactly what had happened, using his more serious tone to get the needed information. Kanda looked at Allen as he started to prepare for the conversation, taking in a deep breath himself and warning the beansprout no to do anything to rash.

When Allen nodded the affirmative Kanda took his hand gently, knowing that this was going to be a long, and terrible story.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

When Allen finished his story he anxiously watched Tiedoll's face for any kind of reaction. He'd only told the full story to a handful of people, and all of their reactions had been different. Master Cross had accepted it, he'd already known anyway so it wasn't that much of a shock. Kanda had seemed upset at first, freaking out to no end until Allen had calmed him down. Now it was time to witness Tiedoll's reaction, and Allen had to say that he was pleasantly surprised.

Tiedoll just nodded his head, his face thoughtful for a moment, taking everything in with patients that seemed extraordinary. Allen was nearly shaking in anticipation, wondering just what the older man was thinking. The only thing that was grounding him at the moment was Kanda's hand in his, the warmth seeping across their connection and working to calm the white haired boy down, if only slightly.

When Tiedoll looked at Allen the small teen froze, but the next words out of the man's mouth were not what he expected, "If what you say is true, then burn me, I would like to at least check the validity of your claims at being a phoenix."

Allen stared at the man in open mouthed disbelief, amazed at how calm and collected the man sounded. The white haired teen had been sure that Tiedoll would've insisted he be hospitalized, maybe even sent to the loony bin, but this was just too surreal. That and the old man had asked to be burned, just to make sure Allen was telling the truth. There were other ways to prove the validity of Allen's story, ways that didn't involve Allen hurting anyone, so why had Kanda's guardian asked to be burned?

The request made no sense to Allen's mind, but he decided it was best to comply. It would get the questioning phase over, which would defiantly make the small teen feel a little more comfortable. As he stood up, he noticed that Kanda was also staring at the older man, confusion the only emotion showing through. It was obvious that Kanda had expected this type of reaction, hence his warning before Allen had even started his tale, but for some reason the older teen looked puzzled.

Allen pushed it aside, opting instead to watch Tiedoll's features as he approached and took of his right hand glove off, not really willing to let Tiedoll see his disfigured arm just yet. Tiedoll rolled up his sleeve and reached his exposed arm out for Allen to touch, watching the teen the same way the boy was watching him. When Allen got close enough he gently touched his hand to Tiedoll's arm, letting it rest there for only a second before pulling back.

He could feel the flames beneath his palm when they touched, licking against Tiedoll's skin in that short moment and leaving an angry welt in its wake. Allen knew that, had he rested his hand on the older man's arm for just a fraction of a second more, the welt that was there now would've turned into a vicious burn, second degree at best. He watched in slight horror as Tiedoll reached up a hand and poked the welt, watching the older man wince in pain as the area was irritated.

Allen put is glove back on and sat back down next to Kanda on the couch, leaning on the larger teen for strength. He didn't like burning people, but at the moment getting his point across was what was important. Even so Allen looked around for his backpack, noticing that it was by the door he turned and asked Kanda to get the tube of hand cream he always kept handy. Kanda rose off the couch to comply, rummaging around in the backpack before coming back holding the unlabeled tube in his hand.

During all of this Tiedoll seemed to be inspecting the burn even further, moving it around until the blister broke, and revealing raw red skin underneath. Allen waited until the man was done with his inspection, watching with a sick kind of fascination as the result of his powers was poked and prodded. When Tiedoll was done he looked into Allen's face, and the boy stared right back, understanding that he'd proved his story true by doing nothing more than touching someone.

Allen held up the tube of lotion, "If you want to you can use this to heal the burn, phoenix tears can heal pretty much any injury."

Tiedoll took it and put a small amount on the burn, watching as the skin healed quickly, leaving the area unblemished in its wake. Allen watched as Kanda grabbed the tube back, putting it on the coffee table while Tiedoll composed himself.

"Well I can see that you were telling the truth now, and thank you for helping to heal me after that rather stupid request on my part. It was the easiest way to prove your claims true, and I wanted to move on quickly," Tiedoll's voice was very controlled, although it was obvious that he wanted to start firing off questions, "Thank you for allowing me to share this secret with you, and I promise to keep this between the three of us. I would like to ask you some questions later, but for now it's getting very late and the two of you should be getting to bed. Phoenix or not, you both have school in the morning and I will not inhibit your learning. Allen seeing as it's so late would you like to stay here for the night? We have a spare bedroom that you can use and I'm sure we can find you some clothes to wear for tomorrow."

The request seemed more of a demand, and seeing as he was still weak from healing, and that it was rather late, he accepted the request without much of a fight. Tiedoll beamed at the response, standing up and saying something about making dinner while walking into a room that Allen could only assume was the kitchen. When the old man was gone Allen felt a pair of arms snake around his waist and give a small squeeze, a light breath against his ear telling him that he'd be shown to his room.

Allen watched as Kanda stood up, offering a hand that the white haired teen took without question, and leading him into a hallway. They passed a few doors before coming to a stop in front of a very nicely carved wooden door, which Kanda opened, leading Allen inside. When they were fully inside the room Kanda shut the door, flicking on a light switch and illuminating the room for Allen to see.

The room was amazing in Allen's eyes, lightly furnished with a large four poster bed, a dresser, a wardrobe, and a desk and chair set. Everything was made out of a rich dark cherry wood, which was only accented more by the light cream color of the walls. The curtains and bed covers were a deep red, matching the cherry wood nicely and filling out the room with just enough color. Dotting the walls were more paintings, although these seemed more in the oriental style, simple yet detailed ink drawings and charcoal sketches added character to the room. Allen felt at ease, almost as if this room was meant for him, and at Kanda's next words it almost seemed as though it was.

"When we moved here, the crazy old man said that I needed to help decorate a room other than my own, so I chose the guest bedroom, because honestly, I thought no one would ever use it. I was right in my thinking that up until now, so I hope you like it, not that I tried hard or anything," Kanda was talking in almost a low growl, as if he didn't want to mention that he'd created such a beautiful room.

Allen stared at him in disbelief, "You mean to say that you decorated all of this? It's glorious Kanda, truly amazing."

He walked over and hugged the larger teen, packing into the gesture all the love he felt at being accepted and finally finding the one he was meant for. They stayed like that for a few minutes, just basking in the warmth that radiated between them, before Tiedoll knocked on the door and told them that dinner was ready.

They walked to the dining room, hand in hand, while Tiedoll dished up some kind of pasta, putting an extra helping onto Allen's plate before walking back into the kitchen. The two sat down across from each other, Allen staring into the cobalt eyes of the man sitting in front of him, only breaking his gaze when Tiedoll walked in and told them they could eat.

Allen thought that the food was amazing, although he tried to keep his eating slowed down to an almost human pace, it would do no good to gross out both Kanda and Tiedoll. Even with his slowed eating pace he still finished well before the other two, getting up taking his plate to the kitchen, then saying that he was off to bed. In truth he was ridiculously tired, the events of the day had worn him down in more than one way.

As he lie down on the soft bed he couldn't help but think about all the things that had gone right today, all of the things that made his life a little better. Of course while thinking about the good, the bad things came rearing their ugly heads, making him wonder why bad things usually happened right after something good.

Either way he was content, and lying on the bed already half asleep Allen couldn't have been happier. He'd finally found the second phoenix and that man had accepted him, albeit with some questions, and he'd managed to tell someone other than his master about his condition and that man had also accepted him, with even fewer questions then his other half. This day seemed like a dream come true, but Allen knew it couldn't last forever, because eventually all dreams have to come to an end.

**A/N: Have I ever mentioned how much I love Tiedoll, he's such a fun character to write. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it and please know that things will be speeding up pretty soon. I'll get to the weekend in the next five chapters at most I promise. Thanks again for reading and please review.**


	17. Chapter 17 Thoughts

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. I had the first half typed up, but then couldn't figure out how to do the time jump so it wasn't too rushed or uninformative. Stuff does happen in that week, it's just not as important, so I guess the time jump is more or less a highlight reel of what went on. Anyways, Kanda's once again out of character (I've given up trying to keep him in character at all) and the time jumps a little sloppy.**

**Before I forget, I'd like to send a quick little thank you and holy crap to Nonumaru, who responded to every freaking chapter in the span of like three hours. No joke my email account was freaking out because I had too many reviews. Also, thanks to this wonderful reader, I now have over 50 reviews which honestly made me do my happy dance (It's really scary and you don't want to see it in real life trust me).**

**Please enjoy and review when you're done, I'd love to hear from you lovely readers.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man, or any of the characters.**

Chapter 17 Thoughts

Kanda listened as Allen finished up his story, watching his guardian's face, making sure that the man's reaction wasn't adverse in any way. The expression he saw was almost what he had been hoping for, but there was a hint of something that he didn't like hidden within the old man's eyes. There was acceptance, which was exactly what Kanda had wanted, but there was also an underlying hint of mischief.

The older teen shrugged it off as nothing, Tiedoll would get himself in trouble all the time, and he'd always managed to get himself out before. This was no different, if the old man wanted to be stupid then Kanda wasn't going to stop him. As long as it didn't interfere with his life he was fine with Tiedoll taking idiotic risks. Although when the old man asked Allen to burn him, the Japanese teen was taken aback.

He'd felt the flames of Allen's touch before, and he could definitely say they were not pleasant. So why on earth would Tiedoll want to be hurt in that way? Kanda made no move to stop Allen as the younger teen slipped off the couch and walked over to the man, uncovering his hand as he did so. The blue haired teen briefly noticed that Allen had chosen his unburned hand, probably out of some kind of shame or perhaps lack of trust.

Kanda watched as the sprout touched Tiedoll's arm, winching as he watched the flames lick his guardian's skin for just a second before retreating back into Allen's hand. When the white haired boy pulled his hand away the older teen eyed the angry red welt that had formed from the flame. He sat motionless while Allen walked back to the couch, studying Tiedoll as the older man poked and prodded the irritated area.

He really couldn't understand Tiedoll's fascination with the burn, it was kind of disgusting to watch as the old man broke the blister, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from the sight. That was until Allen quietly asked for him to grab to tube of lotion out of his bag, obviously intending to offer it up to Tiedoll to heal the wound. Kanda complied, only because he was worried that Allen might have another dizzy spell, or pass out and hit his head again.

Kanda lifted himself off the couch and walked over to where Allen's bag sat, rummaging through the backpack until his hand came to rest on the unmarked tube. It still bugged him that the tube didn't have a label, it almost made it seem like something bad, definitely not something that could heal almost any wound in a matter of seconds. Even so he brought it back to Allen, giving it to the sprout while turning back to Tiedoll, who had pealed most of the blister off and was now inspecting the skin underneath.

He watched as Allen waited for Tiedoll to finish before offering up the tube, informing the older man of the lotions properties. When Tiedoll had healed his wound, he finally got down to the business at hand. First reassuring the sprout that he believed the crazy story about the phoenix and the Noah, and then inviting him to stay the night, insuring that the invitation was almost unrejectable. Kanda knew that Allen wouldn't reject the offer, he wasn't really sure about the sprouts home life, but he could tell that it probably wasn't that great considering the boys history. He felt almost happy when Allen accepted, at least this way, were anything to happen to Allen he would be the first to know. With those thoughts aside, Kanda decided it was a good time to show Allen to the guest room, considering Tiedoll was busy making dinner for the three of them.

He hugged Allen from behind, letting a soft breath escape his lips, "I'll show you to your room now if you don't mind. I hope you find the accommodations acceptable."

In truth Kanda was just teasing the sprout, but the contact between them felt warm and inviting, so he lingered for a moment before pulling away and standing up, offering up a hand to the white haired teen. When Allen was on his feet Kanda kept their hands linked, feeling the warmth radiate from both of their hands as he led the boy down the hallway. He opened the door to the room, a little wary about Allen's reaction to the decorating taste.

Kanda had decorated the room after all, it had been one of his projects when he and Tiedoll had moved into the apartment. He'd been told that he actually had to do something to make the space more cheery, so he'd done up the guest room, matching colors between the wall, the floor, the furniture, everything. It wasn't really in his nature to be artsy, he was usually more along the athletic lines, but on this project he'd spent days, weeks even, making sure everything was balanced just right. It wasn't that he thought anyone would be using this room, they hardly had guests over, but some unknown instinct had insisted that this room be perfect.

Now, it seemed, the reason for that instinct was standing in front of him, basking in the beauty of the room he'd created. Kanda tried to brush it off as nothing, insisting that it had been something forced on to him by his pesky guardian, which was a half-truth, but Allen insisted on making much more of it then Kanda would ever admit to. The way Allen was acting and praising Kanda's work sent a shiver of pleasure through the older teen, a shiver that was only intensified when the Moyashi decided to give him a huge hug. The white haired teen's arms snaked around his waist, his shorter stature making his head rest level with Kanda's heart. Before he even knew what he was doing, Kanda felt himself hugging back, almost clinging to the warmth that radiated from Allen's body and into his own.

Kanda desperately wanted to kiss the younger boy, but he was afraid of what might happen as a result. So they just stood there, basking in each other's presence until their embrace was broken by a knock at the door and the call that dinner was ready. The Japanese teen almost didn't want to let go, he didn't want to let this perfect moment to end, but he had to, or else raise the suspicion of his guardian even more.

The blue haired teen knew that Tiedoll was okay with his 'son' being gay, the old man had had no objections to Alma, but just the thought of being walked in on during such an intimate moment immediately had Kanda backing away. Sure they were just hugging, but honestly it felt like so much more. Every time they touched, be it casual holding hands, hugging, or even kissing, something seemed to pass between them that Kanda couldn't place. It was definitely supernatural, but still it felt so right.

As Kanda stepped away he opened the door, leading Allen to the dining room where Tiedoll was dishing out pasta, adding an extra few spoonful's to the plate that was no doubt Allen's. Kanda sat in his usual seat while the Moyashi sat across from him. As they waited for Tiedoll to join them, the older teen couldn't help but get lost in the younger teen's eyes, the shining pools of gray speaking volumes as to how the beansprout was feeling. There was happiness, and joy, and a very large portion of love, but there also seemed to be some doubt, and perhaps an underlying fear. Kanda couldn't make sense of the emotions at that moment, but he was sure as hell going to analyze them later.

The eye contact broke when Tiedoll told them that they could eat, but Kanda's eyes lingered while he watched the white haired teen eat his pasta at a surprisingly normal pace. Sure the kid was still eating faster than Kanda ever could, but the speed was almost human that the Japanese teen managed to stomach it. This was obviously done for his sake, so he didn't feel right asking Allen to slow down further, it was clear that the boy was practically starving. That was understandable, considering how much damaged his body had suffered it only made sense that the boy would need to eat more food in order to fuel his strange healing ability. Kanda only hoped that when he became a phoenix his appetite wouldn't be quiet so large.

Kanda was too busy paying attention to the Moyashi that he hardly noticed that his food sat, practically untouched, when Allen finally finished. The boy thanked them for the meal, and informed them that he was going to go to bed. The Japanese teen didn't want to see the smaller go, but he knew that the sprout needed his rest, especially if they were going to go to school in the morning. So he bid the boy goodnight, watching the white haired teen's form retreat into the shadows of the hallway.

As soon as the younger teen was out of earshot Tiedoll spoke up for the first time in almost an hour, "Interesting friend you've got there Yu, or is it safe for me to assume that you two have passed the 'just friends' stage already?"

The blue haired teen felt a little annoyed that his guardian was treating him like a child, but he could understand where the old man was coming from. Even so, the way Tiedoll had asked it almost sounded like a father talking to a twelve year old about serious relationships, which wasn't the situation at all. What Tiedoll needed to understand was that he and Allen were literally made for each other, he had felt it the first time their lips had touched, and confirmed it the second time around. There was just something about the small British boy that made him feel safe, warm, and loved in a way that he'd never felt before.

He couldn't really expect the old man to understand what he was talking about, but he had to at least try to make Tiedoll see that this was not a passing fancy, and that Kanda planned to be by Allen's side for the rest of his life, however long, or short, that was. He'd met the boy not even twenty-four hours ago, but the moments he was with the beansprout had been some of the best, and worst of his life. The constant worry that something would find and hurt Allen always in the back of his mind, and hearing about the Noah hadn't made that worry easy to bare.

Kanda took a breath before beginning the little speech he'd just planned in his head, "I know you might not understand this, and I know you probably won't agree with this choice, but it's mine to make so you really have no say. I'm going to help Allen, in whatever way I can, whether that is to be there for him and protect him from harm, or to just hold his hand and hug him when he needs it. I'm going to walk into the fire with him this weekend, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. I will become the other phoenix, because I know inside that's who I am. Our bond is much stronger than the constraints of time and tradition, and nothing anyone says or does can stop us."

The words were really mushy sounding, and Kanda marveled again at how unlike him they sounded, but they were the right words, he was sure of it. So when he finished he watched as his guardian's face turned from interest to pure joy, shocked at the response he was getting. He'd expected anger, or indignation, or maybe even disbelief, but what he was seeing didn't match with any of those. Tiedoll actually looked happy for him, tears showing themselves in the old man's eyes.

"Oh Yu, you've finally grown up. I'm so proud of you for defending your relationship so fiercely, and I couldn't be happier for you and Allen. I can see it in your eyes that you mean every word, and I can't help but wonder exactly what kind of reaction you were thinking to get with such a driving speech. I knew that you would find another, because I could see from the very first moment I saw that boy in your arms that you loved him, much more then you ever loved Alma." Small tears began to streak down Kanda's face at his guardian's words, the mention of Alma sending his emotions spiraling downwards into chaos. He wasn't unhappy, it was more that he couldn't deal with this much emotion at once.

The love for his foster father was there, although he tried to keep it reigned in, but there was also pain for the loss of Alma being rammed like a stake through his heart. He was also feeling shame, and anger, he was the reason that the Moyashi had to deal with so much pain in the past, from the Noah, and even from the high school girls that had beaten him almost to death. How could he claim to love someone so fully, but be the cause of all the pain the boy had ever endured. He'd pushed the thought's aside before, but now they were all coming back, in a torrent that he couldn't control.

He felt a hand on his back as he started to sob, gently coxing him into a less hysterical state. When he'd calmed himself down enough to look at his guardian he saw confusion and concern in his eyes. He quickly looked away, not willing to be pitied by anyone at the moment, because this was his personal melt down, and no one, not even his adoptive father, needed to see that.

Tiedoll's voice filtered through the despair he was feeling, the words hitting him like a sharp slap, "You need to stop this, I know exactly what you're thinking, and I can tell you, you're not thinking straight. Stop blaming yourself for the things you can't change, and start fixing yourself so you can make sure they never happen again. This is exactly what I told you after Alma died, and you did it, although not in the way everyone would've liked, but still, you fixed the problem so it didn't happen again. I'm not asking you to rebuild your wall, because you've let Allen in, and I'm pretty sure you can't go back, but try to help Allen by helping yourself first. You need to let it go, before it becomes you and takes control of your life. Let your mind really think it through before you do something stupid to both yourself, and your new love."

Kanda tried to do as he was told, pushing his emotions aside and rationally analyzing the situation. When he thought about it, the old man was right, there really was nothing he could do to change the past, so he needed to stop stressing over what had happened, and move on to what would happen. He felt his anger at himself dissolve, along with the regret, remorse, pain, and even the guilt. He let it all wash away until the only things that were left were determination, compassion, understanding, and most of all love.

He hugged the old man, for the first time since he was a small child and thanked him, for being the words of wisdom in all of his darkest time. As he pulled away he heard Tiedoll mutter something about, "Well that's what fathers are for" and he felt himself smile just slightly. That crazy old man always had something to say about everything.

Kanda finished eating and took his plate into the kitchen, telling Tiedoll that he was going to bed before slipping down the dark hallway. He found himself stopping in front of Allen's door, gently pushing it in trying not to wake the sleeping Moyashi. The sight that greeted him was so adorable he felt himself gag in response. Sure he'd just declared his love and devotion towards the white haired lump on the bed, but by no means had he gained any ridiculous feminine qualities.

The beansprout was on top of all the covers, still wearing his clothes, shoes and all, curled into a little ball and cushioning his head with one arm. There was a pillow in his other arm, being slightly flattened by his tight hold and his face seemed to be one of bliss, and happiness. Honestly Kanda thought the image was just a little too cute, but even so he walked into the room and set about fixing the boy so he wouldn't wake up in the morning, looking like he'd just passed out in bed.

The shoes went first, Kanda untied them and threw the black sneakers onto the floor, pushing them under the bed so no one would trip on them. Next came Allen's belt, because if he were to lie down on it, there would be some serious discomfort. So he unbuckled the belt and slowly slid it off, careful not to wake the boy who'd been wearing it. He threw that article of clothing onto the desk chair, making sure to keep it from falling off. Next Kanda pulled of the Moyashi's pants, leaving the boy in boxers and his shirt.

Kanda might have done something to the sleeping boy, but Tiedoll was in the other room, and the old man had been right about Allen needing rest. There was also that pesky fact that just touching the younger boy, even for a fraction of a second, would burn him. So trying anything that was not "parent approved" was out of the question. Even so, Kanda couldn't help but let his mind wander to the change that was going to occur in the upcoming weekend.

If all went well, he would become the other phoenix and they could finally touch, without gloves or fabric between them. The idea seemed enticing, however at the current moment he couldn't even brush the hair away from the beansprouts eyes, let alone hold hands, or explore each other's bodies. Kanda realized that he'd been standing there, staring at the Moyashi for almost ten straight minutes before he shook his head, trying to rid himself of the images his mind had conjured up. Damn teenage hormones, getting the better of him.

When Kanda had finally finished getting Allen at least semi sleep worthy, removing the red ribbon from around his neck and unbuttoning the first couple of buttons on his top, he pulled the blanket from under the boy ever so gently. When he'd finally worked enough of the blanket free he put it over top of the Moyashi, tucking in the sides around the small boy. Kanda was about to leave the room, but thought better of it and walked quickly but quietly back to the white haired boy's side. Hoping that he wouldn't get burned for his efforts he placed a soft kiss on the top of the boy's head, smiling to himself when he didn't feel the pain of a fresh burn on his lips.

Allen sighed in his sleep, turning ever so slightly closer to where Kanda was standing. The older teen chuckled, even in sleep the Moyashi was trying to get closer. He stayed there a few minutes more, watching the white haired boy sleep, before exiting and closing the door silently. When he was back in the hallway he leaned on the door for a second, reeling with emotions he couldn't seem to name or control.

This was not supposed to be happening, he was Yu Kanda, the cold, unfeeling, angry person who never let anyone close, so how was it that he'd fallen for this boy in just a day? There really was only one explanation for it, they were polar opposites, yin and yang, which made them fit together perfectly. It seemed peculiar that such a small boy could be the half he was missing, but even so, they were together now and that seemed to be all that mattered.

Kanda smiled sadly, wishing that the moment didn't have to end, but knowing that living in just one moment was hardly living at all. He pushed himself off the door and walked to his room, getting into proper pajamas, and laying down on the bed, fully prepared to sleep until the next morning. Hopefully the next few days wouldn't be as eventful as this one, because Kanda could only take so much before he exploded.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

The next week seemed to go by quickly, Allen got used to the school, and fewer people treated him like an outcast. Kanda became almost overprotective of the new boy as he got used to the idea of being in a relationship with someone, much to the dismay of a majority of the girls in the school. Lavi and Lenalee both got to know Allen, constantly teasing the boy and asking about him and Kanda.

No one could seem to process the fact that Allen and Kanda were now an 'item', especially the first day that it had been brought to public attention. Both boys found it amusing, although they would never really admit it. The disbelief didn't last long though, and by the end of the week the couple had found themselves at the back of the rumor mill.

Over the course of the week, the bond between the two teen's gained strength, and eventually there was hardly a time when one could find them separated. Allen went with Kanda to the dojo and watched the older teen as he trained, and Kanda submitted to going with Allen to the high school band room after school to listen to the boy play.

Allen would shyly admit that watching Kanda train was both intoxicating and terrifying at the same time. The older teen had a mastery of his blade, and just watching him swing his katana in graceful arcs sent shivers up the white haired boy's spine. He swore to himself that he could easily watching Kanda train with his sword forever.

Likewise Kanda found himself lost in the music as Allen played the piano. The fragile figure of the boy was almost powerful as he sat behind the grand piano, stringing together melodies from thin air. Each beat was intoxicating, and when they combined into phrases it was almost too much. The blue haired teen found himself sitting next to Allen on the bench, watching as the slender fingers worked their magic on the keys.

Any night that they didn't spend at the dojo or in the music room was spent at Kanda's apartment, talking about each other, and any past lives that they seemed to remember. When it came to remembering what had happened in the past, Kanda would catch glimpses, but Allen seemed to have more recollection, an obvious result of his status as a fully-fledged phoenix. Even so they found themselves loving each other's company, growing closer as each and every day went by.

Kanda found out that Allen was technically still in the foster care system. When they'd finally been able to track down Cross after years of searching after he left with Allen, Social Services had deemed him an unfit guardian, and had stuck Allen in a foster home. So he'd been bumped from home to home, ending up wherever Child Services had decided to stick him. He would stay at one house until his troubles at school became too much for his foster parents to handle, which is when he'd be moved again. The process, even though hard and slightly annoying, allowed him to see large parts of the country, aiding in his search for Kanda.

However, now that he had found his other half, Allen needed to stay where he was, because moving across the country would not be good for either of them. So, with Tiedoll's help, the three had devised a plan to have the old man adopt Allen as a son, insuring that Kanda and Allen could stay together. The process was going to take some time though, which of course meant that Allen had to return to his overcrowded foster home every night, escorted by Kanda of course.

As Friday rolled around, Kanda felt himself getting more nervous about the change that was going to occur only hours after school ended. Allen had already prepared all that they would need to have a bonfire large enough for two human bodies to walk through, and Kanda had steeled himself to the fact that this needed to happen, for both his safety and for Allen's. There was however one thing that seemed to pester his thoughts constantly. That thought was, "What if I'm not actually the other phoenix. What if Allen was wrong about me? Will I burn into ashes by walking into the flame?"

Despite his fears, Kanda had determined that this was the only way to truly prove his love for Allen. There was no other way for him to express himself to the Moyashi, and he was determined to prove himself. Sure it was a matter of safety, and love, but walking into the fire was also a matter of honestly and honor. If he was going to truly be okay with this, he had to go through with it, because he had promised.

So as the school day ended, the pair found themselves walking hand in hand to an abandoned warehouse outside of town, hoping that the day would end well for both of them.

**A/N: Hooray! The time jump had been completed, this is no longer Monday! So happy to have that done, the only problem now is writing up the pre-fire and walking-into-fire scenes. Perhaps the Noah will be brought in soon as well. We shall see. Hope you enjoyed and please review.**


	18. Chapter 18 Flames

**A/N: So this is the next chapter and I'm super stoked to write this part of the story. I have to warn you, this story is starting to take its toll as far as my imagination is concerned, so I may take longer and longer writing chapters until it's finally finished, that and a lovely thing called school is coming back (Yay! Not.). In truth, I actually have other Yullen stories in the works that I go to when I get frustrated with this one, and as soon as this one is done I fully intend on posting those stories, but only once this is done.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, please enjoy and review.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man, or the characters. Trust me, you'd know if I did.**

Chapter 18 Flames

Kanda was feeling a little nervous walking hand in hand with Allen as they headed towards the warehouse were everything was going to go down. He'd been steeling himself the entire week for this moment, but he still didn't feel prepared. Talking to Allen, it seemed that, if he was in fact the other phoenix, the flames wouldn't hurt him, instead they would feel cozy and warm like a blanket from childhood.

There were of course the signs that he was the other phoenix, the warm feeling they both shared when they touched, the song that no one else seemed to know and was written in a strange forgotten language, and of course, the affection he felt for the white haired boy, even though he'd only known him for a week. The signs were all there, but Kanda couldn't help but feel a little skeptic. It wasn't every day that something like this was told to you, and who was to say that Allen wasn't wrong.

The blue haired teen desperately hoped that the younger boy was right, but there was the nagging doubt in the back of his mind. He would do anything for the smaller boy, but as with everything, some things just didn't seem to add up.

The one thing he couldn't quite figure out was the Noah. A supposed group of ancient people who never grew any older and had unimaginable power had been bested by a weak and broken phoenix? Sure in extreme cases it may be believable, but the more Kanda thought about it, the more it didn't seem to make sense. Based upon Allen's story of his troubles after being captured, it almost sounded like the Noah had let him go, and that they were toying with the boy, trying to bring the other phoenix out of hiding.

If that was the truth, then Kanda being the other phoenix could be a bad thing. It would mean that as soon as he went through the change, they would both be in incredible danger. He could almost feel that funny feeling of apprehension following him as he walked down the street. Something wasn't right, and he was going to find out what it was.

Kanda noticed that the beansprout was looking up at him with questioning eyes, obviously worried that he was having second thoughts. The older boy gave him a reassuring smile, and placed a gentle kiss on the gloved hand he was holding. It would do no good to have Allen nervous as well, because Kanda needed all the support he could get at the moment.

They'd made it to the warehouse district by now, and as Allen led them passed the large abandoned buildings Kanda couldn't help but watch the shadows for any suspicious movement. It wasn't that he was paranoid, but one could never be too careful in these kinds of situations. He thought he saw something within a particularly dark shadow, but was pulled away before he could properly inspect the area.

It was obvious that Allen just wanted this to get done, because it would finally empower both of them enough to stand a chance against the Noah. Without the other phoenix, the small boy was powerless against the enemies that lurked in the shadows, and that fact obviously scared him. Kanda wasn't going to let that fact scare his poor Moyashi much longer, because he was going to make sure that he could protect the both of them.

They finally got to the warehouse they were going to use, Allen pulling a small door open before leading Kanda inside by their connected hands. The warehouse was one large room, completely empty save for a few boxes stacked neatly in one corner, and the large pile of wooden pallets in the middle of the cavernous room. Allen let go of his hand just long enough to drop his bag and retrieve the lighter fluid he'd bought earlier in the week. Kanda rummaged in his own bag until he'd found the matches that Tiedoll had given him for this exact reason.

All things concerned, the old man had been more supportive of this than any other normal parent would be. Kanda's guardian had even gone so far as to as to make sure that he had a change of clothes for after, saying that his body may survive the flames, but his clothes certainly would not. Kanda felt an interesting kind of happiness that Tiedoll had basically given him permission to do this, as he hated to go behind the old man's back. Now he didn't have to worry about keeping the fact from his guardian in the upcoming days and weeks.

Kanda handed over the matches to Allen, sighing to himself and letting the pent up anxiety he was feeling out. This was going to be an interesting ordeal that was for sure. He watched as the younger boy covered the pallets in lighter fluid and lit a match, watching the flame for a second before throwing it on the pallets as well. The blue haired teen watched as the dry wood went up in flames, spurred into life by the lighter fluid. He stood next to his Moyashi, watching the flames as they danced, shooting out and caressing the air before shooting back into the small inferno.

It was mesmerizing, the sight of the fire reaching out and coming back in, and Kanda felt his mind settle into a kind of peace watching the blaze. They waited for the wood to burn down a little before joining hands again, the older teen looking into the younger's eyes with a slight fear, but a fierce determination. The blue haired teen reached up his free hand to cup the boy's cheek, ignoring the sting from the small flames that licked his skin, pulling the younger into a heart stopping kiss. If this didn't go right, this might be his last chance to kiss the boy who meant more to him then life itself.

So he relished the moment, drawing out the kiss until neither of them could breathe properly, and watching as the beansprout melted into the kiss. When he pulled back Kanda looked into the boy's eyes for one final moment before starting to pull the both of them into the blaze that raged in the center of the room. Kanda felt Allen's hand leave his, and looked up, puzzled as to why the Moyashi was not coming with him.

"You need to take the first step alone, or else this won't work. I'll join you as soon as I can, I promise," Allen's eyes shifted ever so slightly, and Kanda could tell that the words were only a half truth. Even so, he'd come too far to back out now, so he slipped his hand out of Allen's and faced the flames, letting them warm his front before walking into the small inferno.

The last thing he heard before the fire engulfed him was Allen's small voice, "I'm so sorry Kanda, I love you."

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen knew, he knew all along what was going to happen when Kanda stepped into the flames, but he was too scared to tell the other boy the truth. So he watched for a week, as the older teen wrestled with the decision to walk into the blaze. How he wished he could tell the blue haired teen the truth, but that would cause so many problems for both of them that the truth was best kept secret.

He knew that it would get out eventually, as soon as Kanda walked out of the fire a phoenix, he would see, but for now, all Allen had to do was pretend. Pretend that walking into the fire didn't hurt like hell, pretend that he hadn't made a deal with the devil to save his own life and sanity, as well as that of his other half. The thing was, that was exactly what he had done. He'd snapped under the constant torment of the Noah clan, and had succumbed to their demands that he find the other phoenix for them. He had managed to get a promise of safety for himself and the other phoenix, but he knew the cost of such a request.

They would never be able to see each other ever again after tonight. Once Kanda came out of the flames as the other phoenix, they would have to perform the bonding ritual, tying their souls and minds together for the rest of this life time. If one of them felt any sadness, happiness, pain, anything, the other would feel it as if the emotion or feeling was their own, and if one of them died, the other would follow. After they finished the ritual, the Noah would find them, and imprison them both, keeping them as far away from each other as possible.

The leader of the Noah, the Earl, had promised that no harm would come to either of them, however they were to be kept apart until both of them died. Allen knew the reason for this and the knowledge weighed heavily on his heart. Both of the phoenix had to die, while bonded, in a certain way in order to stop the cycle of rebirth and insure that there would be no new phoenix.

He'd only succumbed to the demands because he didn't want to see anyone tortured the way he was, and he knew that if he could spare his other half the pain he would gladly do it, no matter the price. So as he led Kanda to the warehouse, lit the match, and watched the wood pallets go up in flames, he couldn't help but feel as though he'd betrayed not only Kanda, but himself and the entire human race as well. He didn't think that betraying the one he loved would leave such a bitter taste in his mouth, but it was too late to back out now.

So as Kanda pulled him into a kiss he didn't resist, instead he reacted with vigor and almost desperation. That kiss was to be one of their last, because the morning would bring about the end of the world as they both knew it. Allen felt more then saw the older teen pull away, his vision was already hazy due to unshed tears. As Kanda started to pull him towards the flames he slipped his hand out of the warm one that had been holding it. He managed to keep his voice steady as he told the blue haired teen that he needed to take the first step alone, that he couldn't go with him.

Allen watched as Kanda's eyebrows turned down ever so slightly in confusion before letting his hand go, turning to face the fire alone. What the white haired boy had said was a lie, he could easily have walked in with Kanda, it just he didn't want to be next to him when the fire consumed his body and ripped him to shreds. That's what it felt like the first time, burning up from the inside out and not being able to stop the pain until you found yourself a pile of ash. From the ash you would arise, a new creature, something that was both mythical and magical. Then the flames wouldn't hurt, only after the initial pain would the flame embrace you like an old friend.

Allen couldn't believe how much lying he'd done to this gorgeous teen in front of him, his other half, but it needed to be done in order for him to get what was best for everyone. There was no other way to insure that everything would turn out all right. Even so, the white haired teen couldn't stop himself from apologizing just before Kanda walked into the flames, stating once and for all that he might have been in the wrong.

He heard Kanda's scream as he entered the fire and collapsed into tears on the floor. Allen felt himself break once again, but this time it wasn't his body or mind that had broken, it was his heart. He was such a selfish bastard, how could anyone love such a self-centered asshole like himself. This was all his doing, he'd subjected the one he loved to the torture of walking through the flames, and had already sold this man's free will without any kind of consent. However there was nothing he could do to stop this train that was now spiraling out of control. He couldn't defeat the Noah on his own, and he couldn't go back on his deal, that would surly mean death for them both, so how was he supposed to fix the mess he'd gotten himself into?

He sat on the floor until Kanda's screams had died down, waiting until the transformation was complete to enter the flames and claim his other half. He stood up and wiped the remaining tears from his eyes, knowing that if the older teen saw them he'd immediately know something was wrong. Once his eyes were dry he squared his shoulders and walked into the awaiting flames, knowing that he'd have to lie more to try and protect the one he loved.

**A/N: I honestly don't know what to say about this chapter. The idea just kind of flowed out of me, and I feel kind of bad for throwing yet another curve ball into this story. Sigh, I guess I'll see where this twist takes me. Thanks for reading and please review, I would love you all ever so much.**


	19. Chapter 19 Pain of the Heart

**A/N: Yay for the next chapter, and for over 70 reviews. Have I ever mentioned how much I love you guys? Not much to say here, just to be warned about the change that Kanda goes through, kind of graphic and more than a little painful.**

**Please enjoy this chapter and review when you're done.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters.**

Chapter 19 Pain of the Heart

The first thing Kanda felt when he walked into the flames was pain. It was excruciating and had him screaming in pure agony. This was not what he expected, Allen had told him that it wouldn't be that painful, and that it would only feel slightly uncomfortable. This thought barely registered as the flames tore at his clothing, and began burning his flesh, turning pale white skin an angry red. The fire worked around his body, slowly blackening every inch of his skin and his beautiful blue-black hair. The smell of burning flesh and skin reached his nose and it was all he could do to not empty everything in his stomach onto the floor.

The smell brought his mind back to reality and he was able to push aside the pain for a moment to think clearly. So Allen had lied to him, and it wasn't just a little lie, it was something big. It almost seemed that the younger boy thought that Kanda wouldn't have been willing to go through the change if he thought that there would be any kind of pain involved. The thing was, Kanda would've done it anyway, and he'd made sure to get that point across. He would do anything for the white haired boy, and he couldn't really figure out why.

He'd decided on the first day that it was unquestionably a matter of some kind of fate, but other than that he didn't have a clue as to why he was so attracted to the pale boy. His story was a sad one, but Kanda had never really had the heart to help sob stories. So what was it that drove him to protect the smaller boy? What kind of twisted world brought two people together so roughly and quickly?

The questions were lost to his mind as another wave of pain shot through his body, causing him to scream himself horse. The fire was burning his bones now, making them crack and fracture in a great many places until his once proud figure was reduced to nothing more than ash. He watched, slightly disorientated as his body collapsed into a pile of ashes as he looked on from the fire that surrounded the body. He felt disconnected, as though no longer bound to the body that was now a pile of ash.

He then watched as the fire seemed to move the ashes, fusing with the blackened bones and skin to form something that had a relatively human figure. Kanda felt the fire tug and push him towards the body-like shape, urging him to enter the human shaped pile of ash. Not knowing what else to do, he followed the flames instructions, walking into the body much like one would walk into a costume. He felt the ash conform to his spirit, creating a body that looked exactly like the one that had been burned only moments before.

The ash became skin and ever so slowly his body began to reform. When it was done he lifted one arm up, pinching the skin to make sure that it was actually skin, and to insure that he wasn't dreaming in any way, shape, or form. When that was done, and he'd made sure he still looked human, he slowly reached behind his back, almost afraid of what he was going to find there. Just like with Allen, there were a pair of fiery wings, although unlike Allen's these wings were more blue, purple and white then orange and golden.

Kanda was now officially a phoenix, however he didn't feel that much different. A little warmer when it came to temperature perhaps, and maybe a little freer, but all in all, he didn't feel any different. He saw someone walk into the fire to join him, a shock of white hair that stood out amongst the oranges and reds of the flames. The blue haired teen waited, knowing that he was going to find out what was going on before leaving the safety of the fire. Watching as the Moyashi approached he saw that Allen also had his wings out, the reds, oranges, and yellows, contrasting yet matching with the purple, blue, and white of his own wings.

The first words out of the sprouts mouth were, "Kanda, I'm so sorry, I should've told you, but I was….."

He was cut short by a violent punch to the jaw, one that sent him reeling a few steps back before he recovered, looking shocked.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you lie to me? You knew that I would've done this regardless of what would've happened, so why did you feel the need to lie?" Kanda was fuming, but he couldn't seem to reign in his temper like he usually did, it burned with a ferocity he wasn't quiet used to, "Was it to try and protect me, because I can tell you that it did a pretty shitty job of that. No matter what you said would happen, you knew that it would hurt like hell. You knew, and yet you fed me a line of bull-shit about how it wouldn't hurt on bit. Well I have news for you, keeping secrets from me is going to get us both killed. I know this for a fact. Maybe if Alma hadn't kept so many secrets from me I wouldn't have had to watch him die. So for the sake of us both, fess up now before I feel the need to beat the truth out of you."

Allen looked a little shocked at the words, but Kanda didn't care at the moment, because the fire around him seemed to be fueling his anger, and there was no way he was going to be able to hold back if the younger teen didn't fess up, and fast. He stood there, waiting for the Moyashi's answer, trying and failing to keep his anger in check.

He looked up when the white haired boy cleared his throat, immediately noticing the tears that had sprung into the boy's eyes. He felt bad that his words were so harsh, but there really was no other way to put how fed up he was with lying. It was lack of communication and lies that had caused his first love to kill himself, and he'd be damned if he let it happen again. Whatever jam Allen was in, Kanda would make sure to fix it, in any way that he could.

Before the sprout could utter a single word, Kanda was there, placing a gentle kiss on the smaller boy's lips and running his hands down thin arms until he reached elegant fingers. He intertwined those fingers with his own, pulling away from the kiss and looking into confused eyes.

The anger had died down, so he was able to pack all of his love into the next statement, "Allen, I'm not sure why, but I love you more than anything in the world. I can't stand to lose you like I did Alma. So please tell me what's wrong."

As Kanda stared into the other boy's eyes he registered the shock and confusion, and even some pain. He didn't understand the reaction, but didn't interrupt when Allen started speaking. Tears started to fall from the gorgeous storm grey eyes and ran down the younger boy's face before he finally found his voice.

The first words out of the sprouts mouth were, "Oh Kanda, I screwed up so bad."

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

He walked into the flames, totally intending on lying his way out of whatever hole he'd dug himself into, but that was before he was finally able to see Kanda as a phoenix for the first time. The other teen was beautiful, his newly formed wings open and trailing down his back like a dark majestic cape. The coloring of the fiery feathers was the exact opposite of Allen's, with more blue, purple and white then the red and yellows of his own wings. Feeling as though he was being left out, Allen released his wings, allowing them to spread out before finally walking up to Kanda.

The look in the older teen's eyes was one of hurt and distrust, but there was still that undercurrent of love and devotion that had always seemed to be there. Allen felt terrible, he should've never sold Kanda out like that, even though at the time he didn't even know who the boy was. There was no way he could hold up his end of the agreement he had with The Earl, especially after seeing the Japanese teen in front of him looking so free and beautiful.

Allen could tell, as soon as he made eye contact with Kanda that it was all over for him. The lies, the deceit, he just couldn't keep it up because he truly loved the teen in front of him, and there was nothing he wouldn't do to protect him. Even so, when he tried to come up with a reason for why he'd lied, he couldn't come up with an answer. He'd always known, from the first moment that Kanda had accepted him for what he was, that the older teen would do anything for him, even walk into the fire and be reduced to nothing more than ashes. Allen could only guess that it was because of all of the other lies that he'd felt the need to lie about the change, because if he told the truth about one thing, then the rest would just come tumbling out in a waterfall of terrible truths.

He didn't even apologize before Kanda punched him in the jaw and went off on a tirade. The pain was numbed by the disgust he was feeling at himself, but even so the sting that went along with the punch remained. It was obvious to Allen that the anger was more an effect of the flames and the new connection that Kanda had to it than actual anger. Even so, the flames only worked to amplify emotions, therefore some of the anger that Kanda was displaying was his own, and that fact made Allen feel even more retched. He could feel the tears coming up to his eyes, and in the back of his mind he was thinking about how he'd cried more over the past week then at any other time in his life. There was something about being with his other half that made it seem okay to let his emotions out, especially the ones that he'd vowed to never let anyone else see.

While Kanda was going off Allen let his head fall, looking at the ground so he didn't have to look at the rage that was displayed by the older teen's entire body. When Kanda had finished, Allen braved looking up, watching as the blue haired teen wrestled with the anger that had been amplified by the flames. Kanda's eyes were looking far off, obviously trying to control his temper, so Allen cleared his throat to get the his attention. He could feel the tears threatening, and at that moment he didn't care. Kanda could see him cry, because if Allen couldn't open up to his other half, then how was he supposed to trust anyone?

He was about to speak, but was cut off by Kanda's lips on his, gentle and sweet, so unlike the anger that had been displayed only moments before. Allen felt as the blue haired teen ran his hands down to intertwine their fingers before pulling away. It was obvious that Kanda had managed to contain his fury, and was now showing the undercurrent of love.

Looking straight into Kanda eyes he heard the words that unraveled him completely, "Allen, I'm not sure why, but I love you more than anything in the world. I can't stand to lose you like I did Alma. So please tell me what's wrong."

At that point Allen could do nothing except break down, the truth just spouting out of him like a waterfall. There was nothing he could do to stop the torrent of words, and he didn't really think he wanted them to stop. It felt so good to finally let someone else see his difficulties and let them carry some of the burden he'd been living with for years. Tears started falling again, and Allen finally uttered the words that would be his undoing.

"Oh Kanda, I screwed up so bad." Once those words were out he couldn't stop himself from spilling everything he'd ever done. He told Kanda about the Noah, and the real reason he'd been able to escape, he told him about the deal that he'd made, and how terrible he felt for ever making such a deal. He also told him the truth about what was going to happen next if they didn't stop the Noah from capturing them and how their lives would be miserable once they were separated after the binding ritual. There were so many things that needed to be said, and Allen was barely breathing as he told Kanda everything, every lie, half-truth, and every mistake he'd ever made.

The thing he saved for last was by far the hardest thing for him to say, "If the Earl captures us and keeps us apart for long enough after we've been bound to each other, we'll both get incredibly weak. It's a side effect of not being near your other half. Once we get weak enough, he'll bleed us until there isn't a drop of moisture in our bodies. We'll still be alive through all of this, although in extreme pain. Once the bleeding is done, all he has to do is drive an iron steak through both of our necks at the same time. It's a complicated process, and if the Earl doesn't do it just right then nothing will happen, we'll just die and the reincarnation cycle will continue. If he succeeds, then we both die and the cycle will be broken. We'll be gone forever."

**A/N: You all knew that Allen couldn't be a baddy, didn't you? He came clean, which in my mind is a good thing, only problem is, now they have to somehow get out of the deal he made. Thank you for reading and please review, they make me happy, and encourage me to write more.**


	20. Chapter 20 Revelations

**A/N: I'm so sorry guys. This chapter was supposed to be finished ages ago, but like with everything, school and life got in the way. I'm super sorry, and I hope this chapter makes up for it (It probably won't, but still).**

**Thank you for staying with me, and please enjoy this chapter.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: Do don't own D Gray Man, or the characters, and I probably never will.**

Chapter 20 Revelations

Kanda stood there for a few moments, letting the words of Allen's confession sink in before he did anything. It would do no good to blow up at the moment, he'd already experienced how little control he had over his emotions when he was inside the fire. So he thought rationally for a couple of minutes, sorting through everything. He didn't take too long though, he could tell that the Moyashi was on the verge of a breakdown if he didn't say something quickly.

He took a deep breath before he started, reminding himself to keep his cool, "Moyashi, have I ever told you you're an idiot?"

He watched as Allen's face fell, tears coming to the younger boy's eyes again. Kanda knew that he couldn't leave the sprout that way for long, so he drew the boy's petite frame into a hug. The rigidness that Allen displayed told of the Japanese teen of his surprise, but he felt the sprout press into the hug after a moment, and his heart swelled just a little bit.

"You're an idiot for not telling me about this, not because of the choices you made. In all honesty I might have made the same ones given your position. Did you think that I wouldn't love you because you made some bad decisions?" Kanda felt the boy nod his head against his chest and chuckled ever so slightly, "I should be angry about this, furious even, but I'm not for some reason. All I want to do is protect you Baka, and I will do that no matter what it takes."

He felt Allen pull out of the embrace, the smaller boy taking a few steps back before looking up. When Kanda looked into his eyes he saw a great amount of confusion, although his relief was a clear.

The older teen wasn't the least bit surprised by the next words out of the sprouts mouth, "You're not mad at me?"

"I guess I'm a little angry with you, but not as angry as I was when you wouldn't tell me what was going on. You need to learn that you can trust me, with anything. That's what I was mad about. I can forgive you for your mistakes, because they were ones that you made before you even knew me. Sure I'm upset that you would ever think selling someone else out would end well, but I can understand." It seemed that the flames were amplifying more than just his anger, and now that that emotion had been suppressed, the love was shining through more than ever.

The words seemed to have the right effect on Allen, and as the younger teen burst into tears Kanda pulled him into a loving embrace. He slowly brought the crying boy down to the floor, kneeling on the hot cement and holding the white haired teen as though he might break. The boy seemed so fragile in his arms, and looking down at the younger, Kanda knew that he would do anything, anything at all, to protect the small sprout in his arms.

The nickname had been one of ridicule at first, but over the past week, Kanda felt himself saying it as more of a term of endearment. Allen was his sprout, and, just like all the plants in the garden that he loved, he would make sure that this sprout grew to be strong and beautiful.

He let Allen cry for a few minutes more, making sure that the boy got all of his emotions out in one go so that Kanda wouldn't have to deal with any more crying. Sure the sprout looked cute when he cried, but whenever it happened, the Japanese teen felt himself die on the inside a little, feeling as though there was nothing he could do to stop the suffering of his other half. When he felt Allen's sobs subside he pulled the other teen away from his chest, looking deeply into a pair of gorgeous gray eyes.

"Are you feeling better now?" Kanda asked with a slight chuckle in his voice.

Allen reached up a gloved hand to his face to wipe at the silvery tears that still graced his cheeks, "Yes, thank you."

He said it quietly, but it was obvious that he was extremely grateful. Kanda just smirked a bit, pulling the younger male into a quick kiss before continuing.

"So, how do we perform this bonding ritual?" he asked after pulling away again. Kanda was ready for the next step. He'd already walked into the fire, might as well go all the way, especially if it meant that he would be better able to protect his Moyashi.

Allen shifted a little on his knees, and Kanda could tell he was nervous to answer the question, "Well it's kind of complicated, and if it isn't done correctly it won't work."

The blue haired teen could tell that the younger was beating around the bush, so he went straight into his next words, "Moyashi, what exactly do we have to do?"

The sprout turned a light shade of pink as he mumbled the answer, "We have to exchange blood."

"Wait, blood?" Kanda was sure that he'd heard right, but the strangeness of it had caught him off guard.

Allen flushed a deeper shade of pink, "Yes, blood. We have to swap blood."

Kanda shook his head, this was insane. Why did the world have to make things so hard for him? He'd already agreed to go through with it, and there was no turning back now.

"Fine, show me what to do."

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen heard himself finish, feeling detached and a little more than scared about how Kanda would take the news. It wasn't every day that you had to tell your phoenix boyfriend that you'd sold them out before you even knew who they were. The younger teen was a more than a little nervous that Kanda would hate him and refuse to ever speak to him again. He could feel the hysterical tears bubble up to the surface, but he managed to keep them at bay, he wanted to see and hear the older teen's reaction.

Watching the blue haired teen, he saw all of the emotions flash across his other half's beautiful, angular face. There was anger at first, which melted to frustration, leading to confusion, and finally, what Allen hoped was understanding. His hopes were quickly dashed by the first words out of Kanda's mouth.

"Moyashi, have I ever told you that you're an idiot?"

In that moment Allen felt his world come crashing down. Kanda really did hate him now, and it was all because of the stupid choices he had made. The tears that had been bubbling to the surface finally came upon him in waves, and he had to bow his head to keep Kanda from seeing the wet drops fall from his eyes.

He was utterly surprised when he felt a warm pair of arms embrace him, pulling him into a hug against a broad chest. He couldn't breathe for a moment, not understanding what was going on in the slightest. After a moment or so Kanda wouldn't seem to let go, so Allen relaxed into the older teen's hold, letting the warm feeling of love spread over him like a blanket. He couldn't really make sense of what was going on, but he'd enjoy the peace that resided in the blue haired teens arms for as long as he could.

Allen got the answer to his question when Kanda began murmuring into the hug, outlining exactly what he'd been thinking in regards to Allen's confession. When Kanda asked him the question, the one that had been going off inside his head ever sense he finished laying everything out, all he could do was nod. Of course he thought that Kanda would stop loving him, actually he had expected to be shunned, or hated for the things he had done. Even with the explanation, the white haired teen still couldn't piece together why the older wasn't mad. So he made his confusion known, pulling out of the hug and facing the one person he didn't want to.

"You aren't mad at me?" Allen had to try very hard to keep the tremor out of his voice, and he managed it quiet well, only letting a little of his worry slip through.

He was overjoyed to hear Kanda's response, there was an undercurrent to his words, one that hinted at the older teen's unsavory opinion of Allen's choices, but even so, Allen could tell that he'd been forgiven. The white haired teen was so happy that he burst into tears again, the first bout of happy tears that he'd shed in a long time. He'd forgotten how good it felt to feel this relieved, to feel that no matter how much he screwed up, someone was going to accept him.

Allen felt Kanda's arms around him again, holding him up and letting him cry. He didn't notice when Kanda brought him down to the floor, but he was happy to be sitting on solid ground, his knees were far too shaky to hold him up. So he sat there, letting out his emotions and tasting the saltiness of his tears on his tongue, reveling in the strong embrace of his other half.

When the white haired teen had finished crying he felt the older teen push gently away, almost as if Allen was fragile and any jerky movements would break him. The younger teen looked up into the strong pair of cobalt eyes that belonged to the one person he was meant to be with.

"Are you feeling better now?" Allen could hear the smile in the Japanese teen's voice, and felt elated that there was no trace of anger in the words.

He reached up and wiped the tears off his face, making sure to get all of them and wiping away any trace of the slivery drops, "Yes, thank you."

When Kanda pulled him into a kiss, Allen wasn't really expecting it, but he still managed to react before the older teen pulled away again. The white haired teen knew what was going to come next, and he still wasn't sure how he was going to tell Kanda about the bonding ritual.

It was a lot more complicated than burning some herbs and speaking some magic words. Sure you did have to do that, but it also included a tie of blood, and Allen wasn't sure that Kanda would be willing to take it that far. This was the main reason Allen needed Kanda to transform into the other phoenix before they bonded, because a bond like this, between a human and a phoenix would kill the human in a matter of days. This bond is one of the kind that lasts forever, through life and death, and in truth, Allen himself wasn't sure if he was ready.

Even though he had his doubts, Allen trusted Kanda absolutely, so when the older teen asked, he told the truth, although he was still nervous about the blue haired teen's reaction, so he tried to beat around the bush at first. That didn't work, and based on the Japanese teen's annoyed expression, he wasn't going to wait much longer for an answer. So Allen managed to fess up.

"We have to exchange blood," Allen was surprised at how normal he made it sound, as though asking to mix blood with someone else was totally normal. He still felt nervous as hell on the inside, but he needed Kanda to agree to this if he had any chance of standing up to the Earl and living his life the way he wanted. The reaction he got to the words was a too be expected, and seeing the look of disbelief on Kanda's face almost had him laughing, but this was serious, and if the younger started laughing he knew that the moment would be ruined.

So he answered again, "Yes, blood. We have to swap blood."

When Allen saw Kanda shake his head, the younger boy's heart sunk. Was Kanda going to go back on his word, after all he'd already done? The white haired boy felt tears in his eyes for the thousandth time that day, but they didn't have a chance to fall before the older teen responded.

"Fine, show me what to do."

Allen took a deep breath before beginning his explanation.

**A/N: So once again this chapter didn't make up for much, it was mostly a connector chapter anyway. Once again I'm sorry it's so late, and I'll try to be better about writing in a better time schedule from now on, but I can't make any promises.**

**Please review it would make me really happy, and might encourage me to forget about homework and write more (probably not, but still).**


	21. Chapter 21 Bonding

**A/N: Okay, so in this chapter Kanda and Allen preform the bonding ritual. I have to warn everyone who reads this chapter not to try the ritual written between the two characters. The ritual is of my own design; however, it does contain some very real basic components that I found from very real blood bonding rituals. As such this ritual should not be repeated in real life, that I don't want any of my readers cutting themselves, it's not a good idea.**

**Now that that little warning is out of the way, please enjoy the chapter, and review if you have something to say.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man, or any of the characters.**

Chapter 21 Bonding

Kanda listened as Allen explained the ritual, surprised at how much had to go into such a union. Sure they wanted to be bonded through all their conceivable life times, but this was almost too much. There were far too many strange words, an interesting pattern to things, and strange herb mixtures and candles involved. Kanda had his doubts as to whether it would work or not, but he trusted Allen, to the fullest extent. Whatever Allen said needed to be done, would be done, until they were matched together for the rest of eternity, and with that thought, they began.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen had to explain the ritual before he could perform any of it. It wouldn't work unless both parties were fully knowledgeable, and were in total agreement about bonding to each other. The ritual wasn't one that could be tried again either. They had one shot, and if they screwed up, things could go badly for both of them. The bond would be there no matter what, but if they did anything wrong it wouldn't be formed of love and trust, the way it was supposed to, instead it would be fueled by anger and hate, which would lead to hatred on both sides. That was something that Allen couldn't afford to happen, nor was it something he wanted to happen.

"Kanda I need you to trust me when I say that this ritual is extremely complex, and that there will be no going back after it has been performed. You need to follow my instructions exactly, any deviations from what I say could end terribly. Do you understand?"

When Kanda nodded Allen continued, "Okay, first we need to step out of the fire, we can't perform the ritual in the flames, or it won't work. I know that the fire feels safe, and it is probably the safest place we can be right now, but we need to leave it in order to start the binding. Before we do that though, let me run you through exactly what we have to do.

"I have all the materials we'll need, we just have to speak the Greek text and add our blood into the ritual. What you really need to know is that there's no going back after we do this. This bond will last forever, through life and death, and no matter what happens it will always be there. This is why performing the ritual will be dangerous should the Earl capture even one of us. We will be able to feel each other's pain, as well as other emotions through the link. We will also be able to communicate telepathically, no matter how far away we are from each other. And finally, if we're forced apart for too long, the bond will start to take a toll on our bodies, making us weaker and weaker until we are on the very brink of death. This is what the Earl needs to get rid of the phoenix forever, which is not something we can let happen. Do you understand this in its entirety? Are you sure you want to continue?"

Allen only had to wait a few minutes for the older teen's answer, but to the younger, those minutes felt like hours. The white haired boy felt his hands get sweaty and clammy before he got his answer. This was the moment of truth, if Kanda agreed, they would perform the ritual and become one entity.

Kanda cleared his throat, "Moyashi, no matter what you say to try and convince me otherwise, I want this. Not just for you, not just for me, but for us. I'd made up my mind the moment I stepped into this fire that I would be yours and yours alone for the rest of eternity." Allen felt Kanda embrace him yet again, and heard Kanda whisper the words he needed to her in order for the ritual to work properly, "I love you, Baka, now and forever."

Allen stepped out of the embrace, finally satisfied that this was going to work, and that Kanda truly wanted this. Now that the white haired teen was sure that Kanda would have no regrets, he had to outline the ritual.

"Thank you Kanda, for loving me enough to do this with me." Allen took a deep breath before continuing, "The ritual is one with an unidentifiable background, and considering the nature of the phoenix in so many different ancient texts, that's not hard to believe. As such, the mixture of religious ideals and customs have left us with a ritual that is unlike any other, something truly phoenix orientated. The first thing we have to do is cleanse the area we're going to use for the ritual, burning sage and lavender to purify the area. Next we have to set up the alter for the sun god, and although I know there are many sun gods, we'll be keeping with the ancient Greek, using Helios, the Greek titan of the sun. Phoenix are children of the sun, meaning we have to seek the sanction of our creator in order to form a bond such as this.

"After setting up the alter, placing a yellow candle facing east, and a red candle facing west, to signify the rising and setting of the sun, and placing a silver bowl between the two candles, we have to light the candles, yellow first, then red. Once that is finished, we must both hold the blade we'll be using in the ritual, then pass it through the flames of each candle ten times. While passing the blade through the yellow candle flame we must both say the words 'Φως σε αυτό το λεπίδα φωτιά της αγάπης, της ζωής, το πάθος, οι ασθενείς, και φροντίδα. Φέρτε μαζί δύο ζωές σήμερα και να τους ως μέσα τα μεγάλα μάτια του δημιουργού μας.' using the Greek as part of our request to Helios. When passing the knife through the red candle flame we must speak the words, 'Ασφάλεια μυαλό το σώμα και το πνεύμα για πάντα, από τη ζωή μέχρι το θάνατό έπειτα πίσω πάλι. Μαζί για την αιωνιότητα, για πάντα συνδεδεμένο.' once again using the Greek."

Allen stopped to take a breath, wondering to himself why such a ritual had to be so difficult, "Next, we must each take the knife and slash our wrists, the older of us going first and cutting their left to signify the sunset and the longness of the day, the younger slashing their right wrist to symbolize the sun rise and the beginning of the day. Once we've both cut our wrists deeply enough to draw a significant amount of blood, we have to hold our wrists above the bowl, making sure to spill a good amount of blood before mixing it together. Once that is finished, we have to clasp hands, intertwining our fingers and pressing our bleeding wrists together. To finish the ritual, we must take our specific candles in our free hands, yours being red and mine yellow, and light the mixed blood in the bowl on fire, forever binding us together in blood and flame."

Allen watched as Kanda looked shocked for a moment, obviously reveling in the complexity of the ritual. The white haired boy did have to admit, it was confusing and complex, but the complexity was a guard of its own, only someone who really wanted this would actually go through with such a dangerous ceremony.

After a moment Kanda spoke up, "Okay, I understand what we have to do, shall we go and get this done?"

Allen nodded and led Kanda out of the fire.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Kanda understood what he had to do, so as Allen led him out of the flames, the older teen felt a wonderful sense of joy that he'd never experienced before. He and his Moyashi were finally going to be bonded for life and beyond, and there was only a ritual standing in the way of that. He'd let Allen take care of all the complicated things, Kanda didn't want to screw up the ritual and risk something bad happening.

So he just stood and watched as Allen got all the things they needed from a closet in the corner of the room. The herbs they were supposed to burn were in a tight bundle, wrapped with a light silvery thread, and the alter was a small stone bench with duvets were the bowl and candles were supposed to go. The candles were simple votive candles, something you can find in a drug store, while the silver bowl was more intricate, silver scrolling working its way around the edge and a depiction of the sun carved into the center of the metal. The knife was also very ceremonial although in a different way. A simple silver blade gleamed and curved ever so gently towards the tip, while the simple bone handle was carved with feather like images as well as flames, ending in what Kanda could only assume was a phoenix head.

Once everything had been laid out properly, Kanda saw Allen pick up the tied herbs and beckon him over to the alter. Kanda watched in fascination as the younger body snapped his fingers and the end of the herbs burst into flames. The flames were quickly blown out to leave a smoldering ember behind, along with the sweat smell of lavender and sage within the smoke. The white haired teen wafted the smoke around, and Kanda watched as the smoke settled on everything, including himself. When Allen was done he placed the still smoldering herbs on the alter, just behind the bowl.

The younger motioned for Kanda to pick up the yellow candle, which he did, watching as Allen lit the wick with another snap of his fingers. That was definitely a trick Kanda would like to learn. The blue haired teen put the now lit candle back on the alter, picking up the red one and repeating the previous process.

Kanda watched as Allen picked up the knife, motioning for Kanda to put his hand over the hilt as well, completely covering both the handle, and Allen's smaller hand. Once both boys were holding the knife, Allen brought it over to the yellow candle flame, speaking the words he'd said before, with Kanda stumbling along behind him.

The blue haired teen noticed that Allen's face and body had attained a very peaceful air, as though he did things like this every day. Kanda felt himself relax into that feeling, and when they passed the knife through the red candle flame the words he spoke with Allen became stronger, more sure. When that was done, Kanda was a little scared about what he needed to do next. He was the elder of the two, so he had to go first to cut his wrist. He'd never been one for self-mutilation, but this was different, this was to help his new love, meaning he had to go through with it, helping Allen was important. He took the knife from Allen's hand and brought it down on his left wrist, slicing deeply into his flesh and closing his eyes as the pain came upon him in waves.

It wasn't just physical pain either, sure the cut hurt, but it didn't hurt half as much as his heart. All he could think of was seeing Alma propped against the bathroom wall, bleeding to death out of his wrists while he could do nothing to save him. Kanda managed to push those thoughts away and replace them with the wise words of his foster father, "Stop blaming yourself for the things you can't change, and start fixing yourself so you can make sure they never happen again". That's what Kanda was doing now, fixing himself so that he would never have to experience such a loss again. He would make sure that the Moyashi was safe, even if it meant his own death.

Now that his thoughts had cleared, he finished the cut, gouging himself deep enough to expose tendons. He then passed the knife to Allen, who also cut open a large gash in his arm. Once both of them were done, they placed their wrists over the bowl, letting their precious lifeblood slide from their wrists and into the bowl. Kanda watched Allen for the signal that they could continue, and when he got it, he quickly clasped hands with the smaller teen, intertwining their fingers and pressing their bleeding wrists together and grabbing his red candle. Allen did the same, and after a moment they both plunged the wicks into the bowl, igniting the phoenix blood and completing the ritual.

Kanda felt a burning sensation in his wrist, and looking down he could see that the wound he'd inflicted on himself had healed, leaving a beautiful intertwining red tattoo in its wake. Allen had one on his wrist as well, the two tattoos matching each other, yet contrasting ever so slightly, just like their wings. The Japanese teen's tattoo was very angular, but retained some of the more swirly patterns from Allen's tattoo, just as Allen's was mostly swirly patterns, with the underlying angular pattern. They were unique, but both tattoos had the elements of their counterpart. It was obvious that this was the physical manifestation of the bonding they'd just undergone.

The older teen looked over at Allen in wonder, but noticed that the other teen was not staring at the tattoo, instead was staring with wide eyes at something in front of them. The Japanese teen looked in the direction of Allen's gaze and was horrified by what he saw.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Once the ritual had been explained Allen pulled Kanda out of the fire and got everything set up. It was obvious that Kanda didn't want to do anything, for fear he'd mess something up and damage the rituals chances at success. So Allen did everything, making sure everything was in its proper place before beginning.

He lit the incense, and wafted it around, making sure to cover everything in the purifying smoke. Then he lit the candles, doing it in the proper order with a little help from Kanda. Once the candles were lit, Allen picked up the knife gently, the blade may have looked simplistic, but he had made sure that the blade was a sharp as possible, to limit the amount of damage they did to their wrists. Once he had his hand on the hilt, he motioned for Kanda to do the same, and once that was done he brought the knife over to the yellow candle. Speaking the Greek he'd mentioned before, Allen went slowly enough for Kanda to follow along and say the words with him. When that was finished, he moved the knife over to the red candle, once again speaking the words slow enough for Kanda to follow.

The younger teen could feel himself begin to sink into a feeling of peace that had eluded him for days. It felt good to finally be doing something to better his life, and he thanked all the gods he could name that this had been allowed to happen. There was so much to be happy about, but there was a nagging doubt in the back of his mind as to when the Noah would show up after this ritual was complete. Would they wait a day or two, or would they show up as soon as the ritual was finished? It was hard to tell, but Allen had to be prepared for anything.

He gave the knife over to the older, watching as the blue haired teen cut at deep gash in his wrist, just as Allen had told him to. The white haired teen sensed some of Kanda's hesitation at cutting his wrist, and although Allen had never had to go through the things Kanda had, he understood that this was hard for the older teen. When he was done, the older teen passed the knife back, and now it was Allen's turn to cut his own wrist. He took the knife and placed it on his wrist, waiting for some kind of sign that it was okay, and that this was the right choice. That sign came in the form of a warm feeling that spread from the tips of his toes all through his body, energizing him and convincing him that this was what needed to happen.

Allen brought the knife down and cut a deep gash in his wrist, letting the blood flow freely into the waiting bowl. When he deemed it enough, Allen grabbed Kanda's hand, placing their bleeding wrists together and motioning for the other teen to pick up the candle. Once the blood had been set on fire, Allen felt a warm tingling sensation in his wrists, but looking up he saw the worst thing possible.

Allen paled as Tyki Mikk and Road Kamelot walked into the warehouse, glints in their eyes and sadistic smiles on their faces.

**A/N: First, translations. The first portion of the Greek that is mentioned is "Light within this blade a fire of love, life, passion, patients, and caring. Bring together two lives today and make them as one within the great eyes of our creator." And the second bit of Greek is "Fuse body, mind and spirit forever, from life until death then back again. Together for eternity, bonded for forever." Both of these are phrases that came to my head and were put through Google translate to get the Greek. As such if there's anything wrong with the Greek, I'm sorry, and if something is wrong could you please tell me in a PM? I would love to make it more authentic then whatever Google translate gave me, I just don't have access to a Greek speaking individual.**

**Now that that's out of the way, I would like to thank you for reading, and mention that this story is slowly coming to an end. My plan is to end it by Chapter 25, which means that there will be four more chapters (at least that's the plan). With that said, there is not a sequel in the foreseeable future, although I do have another Yullen story that I'm going to start as soon as this one is finished. I'll plug that later, so for now, thank you for reading and please review.**


	22. Chapter 22 Preparations

**A/N: Before I say anything else I'd like to apologize for how long it took me to get this chapter out. I have good reasons for it, although I have a feeling not many of you would actually care to hear them. So in short, my life is more or less imploding, and I've had no time at all to do much of anything, hence the ridiculously late update.**

**Now that that's over with, please enjoy this chapter and review with your thoughts.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters, if I did, Yullen would definitely be in there.**

Chapter 22 Preparations

Kanda watched as the two Noah came forward, guessing at their identities just based on Allen's description and reaction. These two must be Tyki Mikk and Road Kamelot, two of the Noah that had made Allen's life a living hell. The blue haired teen felt himself tense up as the pair came closer, waiting for one of them to attack to he could burn them to ashes. They didn't do anything of the sort, instead they staid where they were, making sure there was a good amount of distance before one of them, the man, Tyki, spoke up.

"Well, what do we have here? It's seems you've found the other phoenix for us Allen. Good boy. Won't the Lord Millennium be so happy to hear that you're both in prime condition, and bonded as well," Tyki's voice was laced with something akin to sarcasm, but with more malice then Kanda had ever heard put into words.

Road spoke up for the first time, her voice very annoying, and scary as hell, "Oh Allen-kun, you've found a new friend for me to play with. He seems much stronger then you were, perhaps he won't break as easily." To that Kanda gave a low growl, shooting the girl a death glare, but she just kept on talking, "Oh, so he's the protective type, even better."

The two Noah just stood there for a moment, and Kanda noticed that Allen had started to shake ever so slightly. Kanda knew about what the two had done to Allen, and the anger that burned because of that almost had him attacking them right on the spot. Thankfully he was a little smarter than that, if they hadn't attacked yet themselves, they were either waiting for back up, or they were only here to evaluated the status of the two phoenix. In either case, doing anything could mean death to both him and his other half, and that was something he didn't want to happen.

It was a good thing that Kanda had waited, because as soon as he finished thinking, putting and arm around Allen to still the boys trembling, Tyki spoke up, "Don't worry, we're not here to make good on the boy's agreement. We've only come to deliver a summons. The Lord Millennium already knows that you've bonded, and that you don't plan on coming peacefully, so he's set up a little arena. You will come to the lot just outside of town tomorrow at noon for a face off. If you refuse, or try to run away, we'll start killing you're loved ones, perhaps the old man first, every day until you finally agree either fight us, or come peacefully. I don't mind either way, but know this, The Lord Millennium needs you both in one piece, so don't try anything stupid."

When Tyki finished, Road decided to step in and add her piece, "I can't wait to play tomorrow Allen, see you then~." With that both of them turned around and walked out the door through which they had come.

Kanda sat there for a few moments after the Noah departed, trying to figure out exactly what the Earls game was. Obviously the Earl didn't want either of them dying, it would only serve to make his job harder, so why was he challenging them to a face off? If one or both of them died during the fight, the Earl would have to go back to square one, waiting until they were both reincarnated to find them and then start the whole process over again. There was another variable that he hadn't thought of until he looked at Allen and their still connected wrists.

He hugged the boy close now that the tremors had left the younger, and asked the questions that would explain everything, "Allen, you said that we'd be bonded forever now, through life and death, right?"

Allen nodded his head in the affirmative, obviously still shaky from the encounter with the Noah.

"Have any of the phoenix before us preformed the ritual?"

This time a head shake of no.

"Why is that?"

At this question Allen had to speak, so the younger teen cleared his throat, although his voice was still a little scratchy, "Well, one of the main reasons was that the phoenix before us were never together long enough for the bond to be formed. We'd find each other and not a day later one of us would be killed. That and as soon as the ritual is completed, the Earl and the Noah can sense the bond, and find us wherever we are. So, if we were to die tomorrow, either one of us, it would be easy for the Earl to find us in our next incarnation, and do away with us then. Of course that kind of tracking usually only works when we're together, but it can still be used against us in our next life."

So that was it. Even if they died in this fight, their next lives would be easy pickings for the Earl. He could easily destroy both of them in the next go round, so why would he go through all the trouble of making them comply now? So that meant that it was all or nothing tomorrow, if they didn't win their freedom, then there would no longer be phoenix, and the world would be plunged into darkness. It seemed so weird that everything was that simple, but Kanda knew that everything in this kind of existence had some kind of complication.

There had to be something they could do to negate the effects of the bonding in regards to the Noah, just in case they did die during the next day. For now though, all they could do was try to get Kanda prepared for the fight, because at this point he'd only been a phoenix for a few hours, and knew next to nothing. So Kanda picked Allen up off the floor and brought the smaller teen back into the fire that was still burning, hoping that the comforting feel of the flames would work to calm the white haired teen down and get him thinking again.

Once inside the flames, Kanda felt Allen relax, letting go of the tension he'd managed to build up in the twenty minutes that his tormentors had been in the warehouse. Once they were both calm, Kanda started in on what they both knew.

"We have to go to that meeting," he said bluntly, still holding onto Allen as the smaller teen tried to regain his composure, "I don't care that I've just been changed, or that there's not enough time to plan for something so sudden. We have to go, not for us, but for the friends and family that we have. I don't know if I could live with myself if anyone, that annoying old man Tiedoll, the ever plotting Lenalee, or that idiot rabbit Lavi, got hurt in any way. I would definitely not be able to live with myself should something happen to you. I would rather die knowing that we fought our hardest then have to live out the rest of my life in fear. I hope you feel the same, because even if you don't want to come tomorrow, I'm going, to keep you and everyone I care about safe."

When Kanda was done he looked at the white haired boy in his arms, his mind registering the tears in the light gray eyes, and the determined look on the younger teen's face. The Japanese teen knew what Allen was going to say before the words left the smaller teen's mouth, and he was happy to know that at least his partner was going to back him up.

"Kanda, we've done the bonding ritual, it would be stupid and childish to run now, they would just find us and make us suffer more for running. You're right, we need to take a stand now or else risk the lives of all of our friends. Before we do anything else, I need to let you know one thing," Allen took a shuddering breath before continuing, "No matter what happens, I love you, and I always will."

Kanda was more than a little touched by the words, and he brought Allen into a tight embrace, lacing the fingers of their tattooed hands together, and bringing their intertwined hands up to their hearts.

"As long as I'm still breathing I will protect you, until the very end," Kanda looked into the pools of gray he'd come to love, as he said the words, conveying all of his love.

"I'll do the same for you Kanda, until the very end," Allen included giving a light smile.

"I don't know the outcome of tomorrow, so please, just this once call me Yu." Kanda made the request out of his own selfishness, and when Allen said his name a small shiver was sent down his spine.

They stood like that for a moment, basking in each other's presence until Kanda cleared his throat.

"If we're going to be facing the Noah tomorrow, shouldn't we train a little? I did just turn into t a phoenix you know," there was a teasing tone to Kanda's voice, something that sounded so strange to Allen that he had to look up.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Allen agreed, before grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the fire, "Let's get to it then."

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen watched with wary eyes as his two tormentors walked ever so casually into the warehouse. He'd had nightmares about both of them ever since he'd been captured, and seeing both of them now sent shivers down his spine. It was like reliving all of his worst memories and nightmares at the same time. Looking at the two the white haired teen could still feel the Tease ripping him apart from the inside out, rexperiencing the pain of having every bone in his body broken while Road laughed in the background.

He didn't realize it, but he'd started shaking, and when Kanda reached over and wrapped an arm around him, it took all his strength not to flinch away from the touch. Even though it was meant to reassure and comfort, the feelings and images of the torture he'd endured were still fresh in his mind. The fact that it was his other half comforting him made little difference, he was terrified to feel that kind of pain again, and his mind had nearly shut down enough to only allow for flight or fight responses.

Thankfully, Kanda wasn't affected by the two figures in front of them, and Allen trusted him to get all the information they needed while he was out of it for a moment. The white haired teen knew that he could trust his other half, they had just preformed a bonding ritual to that end, so after he got a hold of himself a little more, he leaned into the older teen's touch. There were fewer things in the world that could've felt more relieving, now that Allen had regained some control over his responses.

When Tyki and Road left, Allen could practically hear the Japanese teen thinking, the cogs turning slowly inside the older teen's mind. He didn't want to interrupt Kanda, and the fear from the encounter with the Noah was still fresh in his heart and mind, so he stayed silent, opting instead to lean into the hug that Kanda offered.

When the blue haired teen started asking questions, Allen just nodded or shook his head, not trusting his voice enough to actually speak. That was until Kanda asked a question that required more than a yes or no answer. Even so, his voice was a little shaky and still sounded scared. Allen tried the will the inflections out of his voice, but he didn't manage much in the short time he'd been talking. In truth all he wanted to do was return to the fire, letting the thin tendrils of flame to lick his skin and calm him down.

Thankfully, Kanda seemed to pick up on this vibe, and as soon as Allen was done with his explanation, and Kanda had thought it through some more, the older teen lifted the younger into his arms and walked both of them into the fire. The feeling the flames gave the white haired teen was like a shot of adrenaline in his system, it rejuvenated his energy, and helped to sooth his frazzled nerves. The shivering was gone, and the last remaining fear slowly ebbed away until he was left thinking clearly.

He'd already started thinking by the time Kanda had started talking, and as the older teen listed off the reasons for why they had to go to the meeting, Allen felt himself agreeing with every point. He still maintained the fear of being tortured again, but he knew that this time he would go down fighting before he let anything like that happen to him again in this lifetime. It wasn't a hard decision, but it still weighed on his mind. Kanda had a reason to want to fight, for all the people he actually cared about, despite the older teen's mask of indifference. Allen on the other hand had already lost anyone that had ever been important to him, and now all he had left was Kanda. That was a good enough reason for him, and even protecting Kanda's loved ones gave him more resolve. Sure he really didn't know the people that Kanda had mentioned, except for Tiedoll, but he was going to make sure that all of them lived to see the next day, because it's what Kanda wanted.

His resolve didn't waver as he delivered his response to Kanda, making sure to convey the fact that, despite everything, he loved Kanda more than anything, and that no matter what happened they would stay side by side. As Kanda embraced him and laced their fingers together, Allen finally got a good look at the new tattoos on their combined wrists. They were beautiful in their simplicity and Allen couldn't help but feel happy that they'd finally done it. After all of the countless generations of phoenix, he and Kanda had finally managed to complete the ritual, and for some reason he knew in his heart that this would be their last reincarnation. He wasn't sure how he knew, but some small voice in his head said that each and every moment together needed to be cherished.

"As long as I'm still breathing I will protect you, until the very end," Kanda's words cut through the feeling, and Allen couldn't seem to find his voice for a moment. He already knew that Kanda would go that far for him, but hearing it said made the knowledge more tangible.

Allen felt the need to add his own confession in, saying something much the same as Kanda, "I'll do the same for you Kanda, until the very end."

Right after the white haired teen said the words, a request was made by his other half that confused him to some extent. Kanda wanted to be called Yu, which contradicted greatly with how the Japanese teen acted when either Lavi or Tiedoll called the teen by his first name. Allen could understand the significance of such a request, this might be the last time they were together in this life, and who knew what their names would be in the next one.

So Allen obliged, saying the words he'd been dying to say since the day he first met Kanda, "I love you Yu."

The phrase seemed kind of redundant to his ears, but it was obvious that he wasn't just saying the word 'you' twice. He'd placed all of his love into Kanda's first name that it couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

Allen rested his head on the blue haired teen's chest, basking in the older teen's scent, and loving the strong arms that held him. He could've stayed that way forever, but his thoughts were cut off by Kanda clearing his throat.

"If we're going to be facing the Noah tomorrow, shouldn't we train a little? I did just turn into t a phoenix you know," the older teen was obviously teasing, but he was right, and Allen couldn't object to the logic, no matter how much he wanted to stay in the embrace.

Allen stepped out of the hug and looked up at Kanda, "Yeah, you're probably right…." With that he pulled at Kanda's hand and led him out of the fire, and out into the warehouse to train.

**A/N: So this chapter is finally done and edited, thank god for that. The next one should be up eventually, and as this story draws to a close I would like to remind you all that I do have some other things in the works, and I'm going to start pushing them a little more as time goes on. I've solidified the plot for this, and there are three chapters left.**

**Please review and tell me what you thought.**


	23. Chapter 23-1 Fighting for Freedoms

**A/N: First I would like to apologize for the overall lateness of this new chapter. I can say that this year has started to become a little hellish. Even so, I've pushed on and will continue to push on until this story is done, because I hate leaving things unfinished. This chapter is only in Kanda's point of view, one because it was long enough on its own, and two I figured I'd made you wait long enough for a new chapter.**

**So without further ado, please read, review, and enjoy this next chapter.**

**Silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters.**

Chapter 23 Fighting for Freedoms

They had trained until the sun came up, making sure that Kanda knew enough to hold his own with any of the Noah. It did help that Kanda was already very practiced with a sword, knowing how to use a sword well enough to be called a master. That combined with his new fire powers could turn his favorite sword into a weapon of incredible destruction. By funneling his flames through the sword he gained not only power, but also accuracy, because he could command the fire to hit whoever he chose. All of these attributes made training him that much easier.

As the sun made its way through the windows of the warehouse Kanda sat down in exhaustion, leaning against some boxes and motioning for Allen to sit next to him. The white haired teen did as he was beckoned, and heaved a sigh as he sat down, placing his head on the older teen's shoulder. Kanda reached down and intertwined their hands, once again marveling at the red tattoos that graced each of their wrists. He traced the patterns on Allen's wrist with his thumb, trying to memorize the swirls as best he could.

They sat like that in silence until the sun was completely up, giving light to the inside to the warehouse and revealing the damage the two had done to the space. There were char marks everywhere, covering everything from the concrete floor to the steel roof. Kanda understood why Allen had chosen this place to hold the ritual, there was nothing that could easily catch fire, besides the few boxes and palates that littered the outskirts of the room. It was nearly fire proof, which in the case of training a new phoenix, was definitely a good idea.

The silence was broken when footsteps were heard outside of the warehouse. Both Kanda and Allen tensed up waiting to see if the Noah had come back. They scanned the doors until one started opening, revealing a shock of red hair, followed by a grinning Lavi. Kanda relaxed a little bit, but then remembered all of the marks that were on the walls and ceiling of the building. Allen had said that no one was allowed to know about him being a phoenix, so how were they going to explain the state of the building? Kanda stopped his rapid thinking for a moment, Lavi was not supposed to know about any of this, so how had he known were they would be?

The answer showed itself as Tiedoll walked into the warehouse next, followed by Lenalee. So the old man had told them, it did make sense with how much of a blabber mouth he was. Kanda shook his head and stood up, pulling Allen up as well and walked over to the trio that had just entered. Lavi tried to jump onto the Japanese teen, but was stopped by Tiedoll's hand.

The older man looked very serious as he asked, "Did you complete the ritual?"

Kanda didn't want to answer, but Allen lifted their still clasped hands and displayed their new tattoos, "Yes, and Kanda's a phoenix now, so don't touch him. He's still unstable, so any skin to skin contact with him could end in a pretty nasty burn."

Tiedoll nodded his head while both Lavi and Lenalee looked on with surprise and awe in their eyes, "Good, now I think you both need to be going."

Kanda's head shot up, "How the hell do you know about the meeting?"

Tiedoll just smiled a little, "You just told me. So what's all of this about?"

Kanda sighed in annoyance, it was just like the old man to do something as sneaky as that, "None of your business."

The blue haired teen looked down when he saw Allen's head shake, "No we should tell them. We're doing this for them as well as us…. After we preformed the ritual, we got a summons from the Noah, saying that if we didn't show up, a loved one would die every day until we turned ourselves in to them. This summons gives us the chance to defeat the Noah once and for all, however we may both die in the process."

"Well then you better get going," Tiedoll turned towards the door, "Don't worry, I'll explain everything to your friends. I've already had to do a lot of explaining when they came over yesterday asking what was wrong with you two."

Kanda shook his head in exasperation, it would be like the old man to tell the truth, no matter how complicated it was. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Allen was smiling ever so slightly, it seemed that the Moyashi was okay with it, so Kanda would have to let it go for now.

The Japanese teen started to drag Allen out of the warehouse by their connected hands, brushing past Lavi and Lenalee on his way to the open door. He paused for a moment by the open door, not knowing what he was waiting for, but doing so none the less.

"Yu, please try to come back…." Tiedoll's voice was barely above a whisper, but still Kanda managed to hear them. After that Kanda pulled Allen out of the warehouse and started in the direction of their final showdown.

The walk was pleasant actually, the sun shining and everything looking bright and cheery outside of the warehouse. Kanda tried to cherish the moment, taking everything and trying to forget, for a moment, the terrible danger they were about to put themselves in. He tried think of what would happen if they were to make it out of this battle alive. Would he and Allen be able to live normal lives, or would they be forced to live in isolation? He couldn't say he cared much either way, as long as he got to remain with his Moyashi for the rest of his life, and even beyond that.

They reached the field, and the two phoenix finally saw the Noah family in their entirety, and although Kanda didn't know all of the members of the family, he could feel the general hatred and scariness of the entire group. Tyki and Road were standing next to a fat man that Kanda could only guess was the Millennium Earl.

"So you've decided to come play," Road's voice cut through the empty space and Kanda couldn't help but flinch at the voice, he could feel Allen do the same next to him.

"No, we've come to settle the score, once and for all," Kanda's voice contained a lot more power then he thought it would, and he was glad to see the look of surprise on Road's face.

Once Kanda had finished, the fat man spoke up, "This is your last chance to come peacefully phoenix. If you choose to retaliate you will be killed, and that really wouldn't be convenient for me."

"Screw you," Kanda bit back.

"I'll take that as a no… Tyki, and Road, would you please show these two what they're going up against?" The Earl just said with a smile as Tyki and Road came forward.

Disgusting black butterflies surrounded Tyki, while Road just kept sucking at a lollipop, acting as though she wasn't thrilled to get to kill something. The pair advanced while Kanda and Allen just stood there, already knowing what their plans for the fight were.

Allen's words from the early morning training kept coming into Kanda's head, and the collection of information was slowly taking over every thought.

"Try to not revert to your phoenix form unless absolutely necessary. You haven't had any training in that area of your powers, so there's no telling what could happen..." Allen's soft voice came into his head as Kanda let go of his partner's hand and slowly drew his favorite katana, Mugen.

Kanda watched as Allen got into a fighting stance, pulling a couple of knives from somewhere, and setting his face into his usual mask. The Japanese teen also got battle ready, planting his feet and leveling his sword at the two approaching enemies.

"This is going to be fun," Road said with a sadistic grin just before charging at Allen.

Kanda couldn't do anything about it though, because at that moment a large group of Tyki's butterflies had tried to surround him, cutting off his visual of Allen. The blue haired teen knew that Allen could hold his own, so he focused on the opponent at hand, and as he let got a burst of flame the butterflies were reduced to small piles of smoldering black goo.

"Damnit," Kanda heard Tyki say under his breath.

Using his opportunity Kanda tried to catch Tyki off guard, thrusting with his sword right at Tyki's chest. The katana didn't make contact though, as Tyki side stepped and avoided the attack. Kanda was quick to react, and brought his sword up again, this time adding a little fire to the blade, managing to catch his opponent unawares. The sword didn't hit Tyki, but the flames did, leaving a nasty burn from the man's right shoulder down his body.

The other man grimaced in pain, and staggered back, opening himself up for a fire blast straight to the chest. He was knocked off his feet and Kanda smiled with satisfaction. Tyki may not have been dead, but he was pretty damn close.

Kanda took a moment to survey the area. It seemed that Allen had managed to beat Road, and he was currently fighting another one of the Noah, this one another woman, with blond hair. The Japanese teen didn't have time to notice anything further, because at that moment another one of the Noah charged him, this one huge and hulking, a much more imposing opponent then Tyki.

More imposing, yes, smarter, no. The Noah charged at him once, head on, and was dead before he even had time to realize what a mistake that was. Kanda dispatched him with a quick swipe of his katana, fueled by some fire and cutting through the huge muscles like butter.

The next attack came quicker, and Kanda didn't even have time to figure out what the person looked like before he was pinned to the ground. He fought his way free and managed to dispatch the person without a backward glance.

Now it seemed he had time to look around, and what he saw tore his heart to shreds.

Allen was dangling of the edge of a sword, pierced through the heart, his eyes glassy and lifeless. The man holding the sword was none other than the Earl himself, and as Kanda watched Allen's lifeless body fall of the blade he could hear the Earl voice cut through the silence.

"Such a pity that he had to die, but no matter, I've killed him thousands of times before. And the next time will be the last."

With that, Kanda lost control.

**A/N: So yes I am evil, but don't worry there is more to come. I know the fight scene was probably utter crap, but it got the point across. I know that the Noah are actually a lot stronger and more badass in the actual story, but it's whatever. So the plan for now is to divide at least this chapter up into to two parts, so this story has been extended to a 26 chapter ending, which may be extended even farther based on how things work out.**

**Thank you for reading and as always please review.**


	24. Chapter 23-2 Fighting for Freedoms

**A/N: So this was supposed to be out last week, but I got caught up in the holiday rush of things. So here's the next chapter that you've all been (hopefully) waiting for.**

**Please read, enjoy, and review.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters. . . If I did there would be some major changes. :D**

Chapter 23 Part 2 Fighting for Freedoms

Allen was out of breath and tired by the time they finished training, but there was little else he could do to prepare Kanda for the upcoming battle in such a short amount of time. As the older teen sat down Allen followed, resting his head on Kanda's shoulder. He let the Japanese teen grab his hand, and watched as a large thumb traced the patterns gracing their wrists. The white haired teen hadn't had time to notice the tattoos before, and he still couldn't believe that they had managed to make it through the ritual.

Even so he still didn't have time to admire the beautiful red ink, his mind was too full of other things. It really was hard to let Kanda go into this fight with so little training, but what choice did he have? It was either fight for their freedom, or eventually end up separated and dead for the rest of eternity, along with all of their friends.

He stayed like that, with Kanda, until the sun came up and lit the warehouse with early morning light. Allen could hear footsteps outside, and his thoughts went immediately to the Noah. Had they come back early? Were they going to finish them off?

His thoughts were stopped dead when he saw a familiar cluster of red hair peek its way through one of the doors. He let out a quick sigh of relief as he saw Tiedoll and Lenalee walk in behind the first person, who was in fact Lavi. Allen knew that they would all find out eventually, Tiedoll already knew, and his friends were definitely the inquisitive types. He had just hoped that they wouldn't find out until everything was said and done, until the time when he and Kanda either defeated the Noah, or were killed for trying.

It looked like that plan was out the window now, and Allen couldn't say he minded. His friends needed to know the danger they were all in, maybe that would make it easier to say goodbye if Allen and Kanda did in fact get captured. The white haired teen really hoped that it wouldn't come to that, but given the way his life had gone, it didn't seem likely that he and Kanda would make it out of this fight alive.

As the trio walked towards them Kanda stood up and helped Allen up as well. Allen couldn't help but be amazed by the sight of Kanda above him, lit from behind by the sun like some ancient god. The image was both beautiful and terrifying, but the younger teen didn't have much time to think on it before Lavi tried to do something stupid.

Allen almost intervened when he saw that Lavi was going to jump on Kanda, something that would result in a lot of pain, but Tiedoll, it seemed, was faster. Thank the gods Tiedoll had been there, or Lavi would've gone up in flames as soon as he touched Kanda's skin. Even if Allen had been the one to block the contact the idiot would've still ended up with a nasty burn.

It was kind of ironic, Allen mused. All he'd wanted to do for the past week was touch Kanda, let his own fingertips brush against the soft skin of his partner. He'd even been envious of Lavi and Lenalee for their casual touches of the one person he wasn't allowed to do anything with. But with the completion of the ritual, Allen was finally able to feel Kanda with his own fingertips, not ones covered by gloves or other fabric. He was able to brush the hair out of his lover's eyes, to hold hands with the one he was bonded to. The only stipulation was now no human could touch Kanda, at least not without a barrier.

Allen was brought out of his thoughts by Tiedoll's question, which he answered quickly by raising his and Kanda's tattooed wrists for the other three to see.

"Kanda's a phoenix now, so don't touch him. He's still unstable, so any skin to skin contact with him could end in a pretty nasty burn," Allen warned, he didn't want Lavi to try and grab at the Japanese teen again.

"Good, now I think you both need to be going," Tiedoll said while the other two looked confused and a little awed.

Allen could tell that it was a ploy to get some kind of information, but apparently Kanda wasn't quite as observant. After giving up the fact that they were having a meeting later that day Kanda looked a little more than annoyed. Apparently Tiedoll used this tactic to get information a lot.

Once Tiedoll asked about the meeting Kanda seemed to clam up saying it wasn't their business what they did.

Allen shook his head a little, only speaking when he was sure he had Kanda's attention, "No we should tell them. We're doing this for them as well as us…. After we preformed the ritual, we got a summons from the Noah, saying that if we didn't show up, a loved one would die every day until we turned ourselves in to them. This summons gives us the chance to defeat the Noah once and for all, however we may both die in the process."

"Well then you better get going," Tiedoll turned towards the door, "Don't worry, I'll explain everything to your friends. I've already had to do a lot of explaining when they came over yesterday asking what was wrong with you two."

The white haired teen noticed his counterpart shake his head a little, obviously Tiedoll liked to tell the truth, even when it was impossible or at least very difficult to explain. Allen smiled at all of their antics, wondering just what would be waiting for them should they get out of this fight alive. That would definitely be an interesting home life.

Allen could feel himself being dragged out of the warehouse, and he didn't offer up any resistance as Kanda simply brushed past their friends and family. The older teen stopped for a moment, and Allen nearly ran into his back and lost his balance. It was obvious Kanda was waiting for something, but Allen had no clue what that something was.

Tiedoll's voice came from inside the warehouse, just above a whisper, "Yu, please try to come back…."

It seemed that that was what Kanda had been waiting for, and as soon as the words were heard by the older teen they were both out the door, walking to the fight of their lives.

The walk was wasn't terrible, the sun was shining and there were birds singing in the trees around the neighborhood, and all in all it was a beautiful day. Allen tried to think happy thoughts, about what might happen if they were to survive to see the next day, but the constant worry for his partner kept those thoughts from truly surfacing. All he could see was Kanda, lying dead on the floor, and bleeding out at the hands of Tyki, or Road, or even the Earl. The image was almost too much for Allen to handle, but somehow he managed to keep himself from clinging to Kanda's chest and crying his eyes out. If he needed to be strong, today was defiantly the day. He'd already made too many mistakes were Kanda was concerned, in so many different life times. This was the day for him to make up for those mistakes.

The field came into view and Allen could immediately tell that absolutely all of the Noah were present in the field. Their numbers matched but Allen did a mental check just to make sure.

Road and Tyki were there, looking as psychotic as ever, Sheril and Lulu Bell were there too, along with Wisely and Skin, David and Jasdero hadn't combined yet it seemed, and last but never the least, the Earl was there, grinning that grin that had always unnerved Allen to no end. So everyone was here, just as promised. Allen saw this as his golden opportunity to finally rid himself and the world of the Noah family.

"So you've decided to come play," Road's voice cut through the empty space and Allen couldn't help but flinch at the voice, he could feel Kanda do the same next to him.

Allen was too focused on making a plan in his head to respond, but Kanda did that for him, and looking at the surprise on Road's face made Allen just a little bit happier.

The Earl spoke up at that, and Allen had to try very hard to not start shaking at the voice, "This is your last chance to come peacefully phoenix. If you choose to retaliate you will be killed, and that really wouldn't be convenient for me."

Kanda spoke up for both of them, and Allen could feel the fire boiling inside of the older teen, just waiting to be set free. That feeling of power helped to settle Allen's nerves, bringing him back to the reality of their situation.

Tyki and Road came up when the Earl called them, and the battle began.

Disgusting black butterflies surrounded Tyki, while Road just kept sucking at a lollipop, acting as though she wasn't thrilled to get the chance to "play" with Allen again. The pair advanced while Kanda and Allen just stood there, already knowing what their plans for the fight were.

Allen could tell that Kanda was ready for this, he could practically hear the threads of information going through Kanda's head.

"Well hopefully that information will keep him alive," Allen thought to himself, trying to refocus his mind on his opponent.

Once Kanda's hand left his, Allen quickly drew a pair of the many knives on his person. They weren't his favorite kind of weapon, but they were the ones he had the most experience with, and in this fight, experience was far better than favoritism. As he weighted the blades in his hands he could feel his partner tensing for a fight beside him. At least they were going into this together.

"This is going to be fun," Road said with a sadistic grin just before charging at Allen.

Allen tried to side step quickly, but the ground seemed to fall away, leaving him in a room filled with toys and floating candles. He knew exactly where he was, and as soon at Road appeared he tried to charge at her, hoping to catch her and end the nightmare she'd brought them to.

The white haired teen knew all about Road's strange powers over dreams, he'd been subjected to so much mental anguish that way while he'd been captured by the Noah. There had been times when Allen had gone days without sleep, for fear that Road would invade his dreams and turn them into nightmares. Even so, these weeks of torture had taught him a lot of things about Road and her power, meaning that if anyone was going to beat her, it had to be him.

"Well if it isn't Allen-dear, my favorite toy," Road practically purred after dodging Allen's attack, watching the boy for any signs of another attack before turning and grabbing one of the floating candles, "You know Allen-dear, you can't defeat me when we're in this world. I have all the power, and you have none."

As if proving her point a large teddy bear reached over and restrained Allen, forcing his arms to his sides and almost crushing him with the force. Allen knew that trying to wiggle free would only cause the bear to increase its hold, so he tried to stay as still as possible. When he looked up again he saw that Road had come closer to him, a wicked grin adorning her features. The grin made him shudder, but he knew what he had to do, and in order for his plan to work he needed her to come in closer.

She stepped towards him slowly, drawing out the minutes while she talked, "You know Allen-dear, you're life mate looks like he'd be a good toy to play with. Although I'm pretty sure I'd need you too, he seems much more fun when you're the one getting hurt. You two would make such an adorable matching set, one in black, the other in white. I can see it now, almost like a wedding. I wonder who would be the blushing bride? Probably you Allen-dear, you're so much cuter then your partner and your hair would go with a white dress perfectly…"

Road was lost in thought for a while, looking at Allen from all different angles until she finally came right up to his face and started playing with a lock of his silvery hair. Allen wanted nothing more than to throw the hand off, to stop her from doing something that only Kanda should be allowed to do, but he had to wait and be patient, his time would come.

"You know Allen-dear, your hair is such a nice shade of white, you could easily die it any color you like. I think that you should die it pink, or maybe purple, you'd look good with purple hair," Road seemed to be musing about something, and as she came closer to Allen's face she whispered, "I wonder if your lover would like your hair to be purple, 'cause I know I certainly would. That's the first thing I'm going to do to you when Lord Millennium finally catches you both. I'm going to make you mine, make sure that your dear life mate won't even recognize you."

She was so close that Allen could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and in was in that moment that he deemed her close enough to try and get rid of her.

Without any kind of spoken words, or any other indications, Allen let his powers go, and released the hold that he usually kept up for the sake of those around him. He let go of the scorching fire that resided inside him, and aimed it all at Road, the current focus of all of his anger and aggression.

The wave of flame hit her head on, and threw her back about three yards before fizzling out and leaving a severely burned corpse in its wake. Allen was immediately brought back to the field that he'd been in before, only there were new scorch marks on the ground around him, and Road was nowhere in sight, having died in her own dream world.

Allen looked around for a moment to see Kanda finishing off Tyki with a blast of fire from his sword, and was almost attacked from behind by Lulu Bell. He brought up one of his knives to slash at her, but in that instant she changed into Kanda, and Allen pulled himself up short.

As she/he attacked again Allen had to continually remind himself that it wasn't Kanda he was fighting, but a dangerous Noah. Even with that mental chastisement the white haired teen couldn't help but be drawn in by the similarities between the copy and the real thing. The only thing that was different, this fake didn't have the fire in their eyes like Kanda did, and by focusing on that fact Allen was able to focus on his attacker, not just who she was supposed to be.

Once he was able to make the distinction, fighting her was easier, and as soon as Lulu Bell realized that her ploy wasn't working any more she dropped the disguise and transformed back into her usual self. It didn't take long after that for Allen to catch her with a blast of fire, throwing her backwards and knocking her out.

He turned around to see what Kanda was doing, but didn't get far before he felt something cold and metallic press against his back.

"I really am sorry to do this, but you've injured and killed enough of my followers. Capturing you now wouldn't be worth the trouble. I'm just going to enjoy doing this now, and I'll find you and your life mate later," the sickly sweet voice of the Earl came from over his shoulder, and he felt the sword, the metallic thing at his back could only be a sword, slow push through his body, breaking the flesh of his back and penetrating through bone and muscle.

The seconds felt like hours as Allen felt the sword slowly penetrate his body, just waiting for the second it would hit his heart and kill him. He tried to catch Kanda's eye, but the Japanese teen was busy dispatching Sheril, and Allen couldn't get his attention. All he wanted to do was yell for Kanda, tell him that he loved him, but he couldn't seem to get air into his lungs, and at last he felt the sword go through his heart, agonizingly slow.

It took a few moments for Allen's body to shut down as the sword came out through his front, and in that moment he managed to mouth the words, "I love you Kanda."

Then everything went white.

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of your continued interest with this story, and I will be wrapping it up soon I promise. Thank you so much for reading and please review and tell me how you felt.**


	25. Chapter 25 Black and White

**A/N: So here is the next chapter, I know you've all been waiting for it, and honestly I've been waiting to write it until I could devote a good chuck of time to it. I'll say a little more at the bottom for those that would like some more updates.**

**Please enjoy and review this chapter.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man, or any of the characters.**

Chapter 25 Black and White

As Kanda saw Allen being pierced through the chest, his eyes falling lifeless, the feelings that welled up inside of him threatened to consume him. He could feel a pain in his chest that was not his own, a cold metallic feeling piercing his heart and sliding through his entire body. He could also feel a tearing guilt, remorse, and an intense love. Kanda could tell immediately that the feelings were not his own, but that didn't change the fact that they hurt like hell.

He'd lost sight of everything around him, the field had faded away, and all that was left was a bright red. Kanda could feel the flames burning inside of him, and what little restraint he had on them started to fizzle away. The red started to fade, and Kanda's anger focused in on the one person he most wanted to kill, the Earl.

He marched over to where the Earl was standing as his sword was slowly being pulled out of Allen's lifeless body. Kanda still had his katana drawn, and his anger and pain was visible in the flames that surrounded his sword and scorched the ground around it. As he walked the flames grew, covering his arm first, and then working its way around his body until he was entirely engulfed in flames, the fire burning red hot on his skin.

Kanda saw Allen's body finally fall to the ground, sliding off the Earl's sword and collapsing into a heap. He also saw that same sword, slick with blood, rise again as he came near, pointing directly at his chest. He didn't even notice the sharp point as it pierced his skin, all he could focus on was the Earl and his hatred for the man.

He continued walking forward, and the sword was driven deeper, penetrating his ribcage and plunging towards his heart. Kanda didn't feel any pain though, the fire that was inside him came pouring out of the wound, making the teen feel nothing but raw power.

A look of triumph appeared on the teen's face as he let it all go. The limited restraint on his powers, the pain and torture of losing Allen, the anger at the Noah for causing all of this to happen, and finally the love that had managed to grow for the white haired boy that had brought him to this point, and had loved him back enough to die of him. Kanda felt the power release in a giant shock wave, throwing all of the Noah to the ground and causing all of their bodies to slowly deteriorate.

He could feel the life leaving his body, but before he let the flame be extinguished he pulled the Earl closer to him, simply saying, "You'll never have Allen you bastard."

After pushing him away he mouthed the words, "I love you Allen."

Then everything went black.

OoOoOoOo-oOoOoOoO

Allen didn't want to open his eyes, fearful of what would be waiting for him when he did.

He remembered dying, the cold metal going through his chest. Allen also remembered seeing Kanda's face just before he slipped into the black void. He could remember the emotions that had been running through him, and also the emotions of his other half, the seething anger that had always been bubbling under the surface had finally been released by the older teen.

Allen could only hope that Kanda hadn't done anything reckless. One of them had already died, so the Earl's plans had been foiled for now, there was no point in Kanda getting himself killed needlessly. Tiedoll's words kept ringing in Allen's head as he lay wherever he was. "Yu please try to come back…"

The young teen couldn't help but feel responsible if Kanda did end up killing himself in the struggle. If only he'd paid more attention to what was going on around him. If only the Earl hadn't gotten the slip on him and managed to get that damn sword at his back while he stood there helpless.

There were so many things that he'd done wrong, not just in the battle, but in his many lives, that added up to a crushing guilt that was almost too much for him to bear. He could feel tears slipping out of his eyes, and it wasn't until he'd cried for a good five minutes that he started thinking rationally.

How did he have eyes? He was dead wasn't he? How could he feel all of these crazy emotions if he was dead? Nothing really made sense, and even after opening his eyes he was bewildered.

He was in a room that was completely white, with no doors or windows visible. Allen was lying on the floor, which felt like soft pillows on his back, and as he stood up the floor seemed to give a little more than it should have.

Almost as soon as he stood up one of the walls started changing, revealing the scene he had apparently just left. There was the battlefield, a few dead or unconscious Noah lying on the ground, the Earl standing with his sword thrust all the way through Allen's lifeless body. The white haired teen brought a hand up to his chest, trying to see if the sword wound was there at all, but his hand was met with unblemished flesh. It puzzled him, but he didn't have time to think on it as the scene moved to include Kanda, a look of horror and pain on his beautiful oriental face.

Allen could see the look in Kanda's eyes change as the Earl let the body slide off his sword. Kanda was going to do something reckless, the younger teen just knew it, but he couldn't do anything to change it, so he just stood there helplessly as his other half walked slowly toward the Earl.

It was like watching an action movie, where nothing seemed to make any logical sense, and the whole thing was blood and gore. Allen watched as the Earl's sword slowly pierced Kanda's chest, letting out a torrent of fire from within the other phoenix. It seemed that Kanda was bent set on dying and taking the Earl with him.

After the sword hit what Allen could only assume was Kanda's heart, there was a bright flash of light, and then everything was just gone from the clearing. All of the Noah had disappeared, even those who hadn't fought, or were just knocked unconscious. Allen's body was also gone, along with Kanda's. It was as though nothing had ever happened in the clearing, as though the place had been wiped clean of everything that had been there.

Allen didn't understand it, and nothing seemed to make sense for a moment. The screen faded and left Allen alone in the white room once again.

He sat on the floor, trying to puzzle out what had happened past the tears that had started to spring to his eyes. Now that he had time to figure things out, realizations kept hitting him like quick slaps to the face.

He was dead, that much he knew for sure, his lifeless body hanging off the Earl's sword was enough proof of that. The other things were harder to puzzle out. He was fairly certain that Kanda was also dead, the sword had done its work in that regard, even without the strange flash of light. What he didn't understand is what happened to the Noah. One minute they're all there, some dead some not, and the next they're nowhere to be found.

The first thought he had was that they had all died, perished in whatever that light was. He didn't let his hope go that far though, it would be just like the Earl to pull some kind of trick to get out of death.

Once he'd finished puzzling out all that he could Allen ended up lying down on the soft, pillow like ground, letting sleep, or whatever it was called where he was, take over his body.

While he was asleep he felt a strong presence in his dream, one created by flame and built on some very strong emotions it seemed, and when he opened his eyes, he was shocked by what he saw.

A huge phoenix, much larger than his own phoenix form, was flying right in front of him, the flames surrounding the figure looked like a halo, or the rays of the sun.

"_Hello Allen Walker, it's nice to finally meet you,"_ a voice spoke inside his head.

Allen was surprised at the gentleness of the voice, and responded quickly, "It's nice to meet you too, but who are you?"

"_It doesn't surprise me that you don't know, you are the one of the last of the phoenix after all,"_ said the voice, _"I have many names, but I prefer one of my oldest, so you may call me Ra. I was the first phoenix, and have been around for a very long time. I have watched the world change, grow into the society it is today, and I have seen the way that forces of good have been pushed aside or killed off. There were once many phoenix in the world, but humans and time have managed to destroy them all, save you and your mate. The clan of Noah have always been there, even since my creation as the first of our kind, and since then they have managed to eradicate every last one of my children, and I could do nothing about it."_

Allen could feel the pain in the voice of the phoenix in front of him, but that feeling was second to his curiosity, "So why am I here? Didn't I die, and shouldn't I be born again into another life?"

"_Yes, my child, you did die, but it was what you did before you died that allowed you to end up here. The ritual you performed with your mate did more than just bind the two of you together, it was a tying of souls together in front of your god, which would be me, and allowed me to intervene in your lives, or deaths rather. It's very complicated, but stated simply, because you two are bound, and because you're bond is strong, I have the ability to offer you two choices, you can come with me, end the cycle of death and rebirth that you have been subjected to during all of your lives, or you could return to the life you had on Earth, continue to do go there and then join me in the afterlife. This choice will be offered to both you and your mate, and depending on which you choose there will be more explanations needed, but for right now that's not important. I see you have more questions before you make your decision."_

Allen wasn't surprised that his questioning thoughts could be read on his face, or in his mind, so he asked his questions, "What happened to the Noah?" The question played heavily on his fears, but he needed to know, "And where is Kanda?" Another question that had been plaguing his mind.

"_You do have a lot of questions for one so young,"_ the voice sounded amused for a moment before regaining its solemn tone, _"To answer your first question, the Noah are no more. The ones that weren't killed in the initial battle were all vaporized upon your mates sacrifice. That leads me into your second question, your mate gave his life willing to eradicate the clan of Noah, which is why they are no more. Your mate is dead, but like you he is given the chance to be reborn into his old life, or to continue on into the afterlife. As to where he is now, all you have to do is look behind you."_

Allen turned around so quickly he almost fell over, and much to his surprise Kanda was lying on the floor, looking more peaceful then he ever had in life. The white haired teen rushed over to his other half, and tried to shake him awake, but the other boy wouldn't wake up.

"What's wrong with him?" Allen asked, starting to panic.

"_Nothing's wrong with him, I'm just not allowing him to wake up for a moment."_

"Why?" Allen asked, looking back and forth between his lover and the phoenix in front of him.

"_There is something I need to speak with you about first. Something I need to explain and ask forgiveness for,"_ the phoenix bowed his head, _"I've done a lot of meddling in the lives of both of you, and in some cases my meddling has ended in human casualties. The fire that took your foster father was more than just an accident, and I'm sad to say that I'm the one that caused it. The fire wouldn't have spread so quickly without my help, but I needed for you to realize what you were, before the Noah found you again, and so that you would eventually meet your mate. Mana's death was my fault, but without it the cycle of death would have just continued, and eventually the Noah would have managed to kill you and your mate for good. This was the only way that I could insure that the Noah would be killed, through a sacrifice that none of the other phoenix were ever willing to make."_

"So had Mana not died I would've never met Kanda?"

"_That is exactly what would've happened. Your mate is truly amazing Allen, I hope you know that, his self-sacrifice was the one thing that allowed the Noah to be killed once and for all. If he'd done as you wanted him to, run away and waited for the next cycle to begin, you both would have perished. That is the mistake that all of the others had made, but you're mate, was the one who had the courage, or the stupidity, to finally break the chain. I may not deserve it, but I'm asking for your forgiveness Allen, much like I will do for the pain I've caused Kanda."_

Allen thought for a moment, then looked at the face of his life mate. Could he image a life with Mana still alive, yes, but he couldn't ever picture a life without Kanda, and it was this fact that made up his mind.

"I will except your apology, but know that it weighs heavily on my heart to say so."

"_Thank you Allen, I don't deserve even that. Now I need to talk to Kanda, privately, so I will be putting you back under the spell of sleep."_

Allen nodded his head, "Okay, do what you must."

He lay down next to Kanda, and the world went black once again.

**A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. So, my original plan to have this story done in 25 chapters has gone out the window, but I will be ending very soon, perhaps in the next chapter if everything works out right. I would like to thank you all for reading and ask you all to review. And before I leave I'd just like to say over 100 reviews! YEAH! You have no idea how happy that makes me, so I would like to thank all of you lovely readers for making that possible.**


	26. Chapter 26 Closing Arguments

**A/N: So this story is finally winding down, and that fact makes me happy, I guess. It's good to know that I've finally almost finished something in terms of my writing, so thank you for reading and reviewing. Supporting this author with your encouragement and reviews.**

**One more chapter to go, so please read, enjoy and review.**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D Gray Man or any of the characters.**

Chapter 26 Closing Arguments

Kanda knew that something was up the moment his eyes opened to reveal a completely white room. He knew that he'd given his life to destroy the Earl, and hopefully all of the other Noah, and the situation he was in now didn't seem to match up with what he knew. Shouldn't he be in haven, or hell, or whatever limbo phoenix go to when they wait to be reborn?

Nothing really made sense, but Kanda didn't have time to dwell on that fact for very long. Upon waking up fully, and finally inspecting the room properly, he could see a huge phoenix, gently flapping its wings and floating a few feet off the ground. He could also see Allen, laying down peacefully and sleeping on the cushioned ground.

He knew that there was a reason for all of this, so he didn't go over to try and wake Allen right away. Everything seemed to be playing out well for the moment, so why worry? Instead he turned to the phoenix, watching the bird wearily as he stood up, sending his best scowl to the figure in front of him.

"_I see you are distrustful Yu Kanda, but I assure you, you have nothing to worry about."_

The voice in his head didn't surprise Kanda as much as it should have, but he brushed that aside for a moment, "Who are you?" he asked, "And what do you have to do with everything that's been going on?"

"_You really are quick to catch on Kanda, and as I have told Allen before you, I have many names, but you may call me Ra. As to what has happened in this past lifetime for you, I have been keeping a close eye on you young one."_

Kanda sent another scowl the bird's way, "That doesn't answer my question bird brain."

"_Testy aren't we Kanda? You will learn everything in due time, but for now I will answer the questions that seem to be plaguing your mind. Yes the Noah have been eliminated, turned to ash by your very own life fire. Secondly, yes you are dead, as is Allen, but not in the way that one would conventionally call death. I have been able to intervene in your deaths due to the ritual you performed, binding the two of you to each other and to me as well. I can see you have more questions, but I'll let you ask them yourself."_

The blue haired teen was shocked, but a new respect began for the bird creature in front of him.

"What do you mean by 'life fire'? And how is it that Allen and I are dead, but not dead?"

"_Well 'life fire' can be explained very simply for a phoenix. It is the fire of our souls, the burning inside of us that make us phoenix. When you use your life fire in an attack, as you did, everything within a thirty foot radius is reduced to nothing but dust. Which is why all of the Noah are now dead. And in explanation of your second question, you are dead in the human world, but this is the place that all phoenix go before they are reincarnated. Therefore, you are dead in your previous life, but you are waiting to be reborn into a new one. I told Allen this before you, because of the ritual you performed with your mate I can offer you two choices. Now that the threat to our kind have been eliminated you can either follow me into the afterlife, where you will feel no pain or suffering, or you can go back to your previous lives, live them out as you each would chose, and then come to the afterlife upon your death. I also informed Allen that this choice must be made by both of you, for you are now one and the same, bound body, mind and soul. However, before you make your choice I must ask you forgiveness for I wrong I have done against you."_

Kanda really didn't have the patients to wait any longer so he rudely interrupted, "Is this going to take all day? I would really like to make the choice sooner rather than later."

"_Well before you do that, I need to ask for you to forgive me for killing Alma. I know he was your best friend, and first love, but if I hadn't you would not have been open to Allen, and you would have probably lived out your life as nothing more than a mundane human. My meddling was relatively indirect, but it was I who put such dangerous and deadly thoughts into his head. I could tell that this incarnation would be the one to either destroy the final two phoenix, or finally get rid of the Noah, once and for all. I pulled some strings that I probably shouldn't have, but things needed to happen to insure that the battle would occur in a favorable outcome for all of us. I truly am sorry for what I did to you, but it was a bad means to a favorable end. Without your knowledge of loss and love, what you learned from Alma, you would never have been protective of Allen enough to risk your very life for him. Once again I ask for your forgiveness for my offenses against you, and those that you've loved."_

Kanda expected himself to be seething, angry beyond belief, but he couldn't seem to muster the emotions that were usually at his beck and call. When he thought about it, something he really didn't do often, he realized that there wasn't really anything to forgive.

Sure Alma's death had been terrible for him, losing your first love in such a way leaves scars that can never really heal, but it had been for the best in the end, he supposed. Without having met Alma, Kanda really wouldn't know what love was, or what the pain of losing someone that close felt like. In all honesty, without Alma, Kanda probably would have never have the determination to give up his life to defeat the Noah and avenge Allen. It was a sad truth to understand, but it was something he had to understand to grow, not only in himself, but in his love and life with Allen.

"I will accept your apology Ra, but on one condition."

"_And what would that be young one?"_

"That you never do that to Allen, ever. And that you leave both of us alone in our lives on Earth, if we choose to go back to them."

"_I do believe I can uphold that request. As the Noah are no longer on the Earthly plain I see no reason to interfere in either of your lives any further. That being said, would you like me to wake up your mate so the two of you can make your final decision?"_

"Yes, wake up the Moyashi. I think I deserve something for giving my life to get rid of those Noah bastards," Kanda had a longing in his voice, and not that he'd admit to anyone, but he really wanted to hold Allen in his arms and make sure the other teen was real.

"_As you wish," _the phoenix said before turning to look at the sleeping Allen.

Almost at once the younger teen's eyes opened, revealing the ash grey eyes that Kanda had come to look for and love. Those same grey eyes met with Kanda's dark cobalt, and Kanda could feel the joy at seeing his lover again, whole and alive, with the usual light in his eyes. He rushed over to Allen's side, helping the white haired teen up before embracing him tightly.

Kanda could hear a few muffled sobs coming from where Allen's face was pressed against his shirt, causing Kanda to hold Allen more tightly, practically crushing the younger teen to his chest. They stood like that for a few moments, just basking in the fact that they were both together, and alive. Kanda had to admit that it felt so good to hold Allen in his arms, feeling the warm tingle of phoenix tears on his chest as his young lover cried.

Allen's tears weren't ones of sadness though, they were more of relief and happiness.

Kanda could hear Allen mumble into his chest, "I thought you were dead. I thought I would never see you again, and that all of this would have been for nothing."

The Japanese teen couldn't help but smile a little, hadn't he thought the exact same thing when he'd seen Allen's body fall lifeless from the Earl's sword? He was surprised when he felt a hand reach up to cup his face, wiping away a few tears that had somehow managed to fall from his eyes.

Looking into the storm gray eyes Kanda couldn't help but let a few more tears escape. He was so happy that he finally had a chance to be with his soul-mate, his complete other half.

Allen took the older teens hand and together they faced the phoenix, ready to take on anything. The pair watched as a single tear fell from the phoenix's eye, dropping to the ground in a small pool of sparkly gold.

"_That was truly beautiful, you two are simply made for each other. Thank you for showing me such beauty once again."_

Neither of the teens understood what the phoenix was saying, but the words lingered in their heads and sent a small shiver through them both.

"Okay my Lord Ra, would you please explain what the options are for our rebirth in more detail?" Allen asked very politely while Kanda stood behind him, holding his hand and letting the younger teen lean on his body.

"_Oh yes, that needs to be explained further does it not? To make it short, the both of you have two options, you can return to the human world, and live out your lives as you would have had the Noah not been a factor. You will retain your phoenix powers, with a few variations. Any skin on skin contact with a normal human will still burn them, but only if your emotions are too strong. So as long as you have control over your emotions you will be able to interact with humans normally, like you did before you were awakened. Second, you will not be able to turn into a phoenix bird, that form will be bared to you until you reach the afterlife. We don't want anyone trying to kill or capture you again. Last but not least, your control over fire will be diminished. Fire will still respond to your commands and summons, but not as forcefully, or readily as before. These restrictions on your powers are all needed to try and keep your identities as phoenix hidden. They will also allow you to have a relatively normal human life should you choose to live your life that way. This is option is a gift, for all of the services you've done to both the phoenix and the world."_

Kanda looked at Allen, who had started to ask another question, "And what if we don't want to go back?"

Allen's face was completely innocent, but Kanda couldn't restrain his shock. Why wouldn't Allen want to go back to the life they had just started together? He seemed to love life so much, so given the option, wouldn't he want to go back?

The Japanese teen's fears subsided when Allen went on tip toes and whispered in his ear, "I just want to know our options, try not to look like I've just killed your hamster."

Kanda smirked and shook his head. Leave it to his lover to put it like that.

"_That's a good question Allen, and you have to right to know your other option before you make your final decision. I can't actually tell you much about your second option, because if you do choose to stay in the human world you will have knowledge that shouldn't be shared with humans, lest many kill themselves in search of the paradise of the afterlife," _the phoenix shook his head, seemingly at the stupidity of humans, _"this choice includes living peacefully in the afterlife, in complete comfort and love for the rest of eternity. You will both retain your phoenix powers in full, and will be able to be yourselves without any judgment. This is a place of plenty and peace. This is all the information that I can give you at the moment, so I will let the two of you talk and decide your choice."_

Kanda looked down at the white haired teen in his arms, and a small nod was all he needed to deliver their final choice.

"We want to go back to the human world. Make a life for ourselves and live out our final life with each other."

"_Are you certain of this choice, there will be no going back once I send you both back."_

Allen raised his head to meet the phoenix's eyes, "Yes, this is our finally decision."

"_Okay, please enjoy your lives."_

With that the air around them started to shimmer, and they pair blacked out.

**A/N: Twenty-six down one to go. Thank you all so much for your support and love as I wrote this story. I love all of you so much and thank you for reading. This is not the last chapter, but it seems so much like the end.**

**I would also like to tell all of you lovely readers about my next project, a fic based on one of my song drabbles (number 11 I do believe) that will be named "Inked". So please if you will check it out when it comes out. :)**


	27. Chapter 27 Life After

**A/N: So my dear readers, this is the end, the epilog that concludes When You Came. I thank you for reading and advise you to read the note at the bottom for upcoming news and announcements from me.**

**Thank you so much for reading along with me for so long and please enjoy this final chapter of When You Came. I love you all!**

**silverdragon**

**Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray Man or any of the characters.**

Chapter 27 Life After

~Ten Years Later~

Kanda looked up from the book he was reading, watching two little children as they ran around the house, screaming about the monster that was chasing them. That "monster" was none other than his husband, Allen, who had wrapped himself up in a giant green sheet and was chasing the children around their house.

After a couple of circuits through the house one of the children came up to Kanda. He wasn't any older than 6 and had Asian features, dark black hair, slightly slanted eyes, and a chubby little baby face that was already starting to show some signs of maturing.

"Daddy save me from the monster!" the little boy practically screamed while grabbing at Kanda's legs.

Kanda gave a little smile to his son, putting the book down before picking him up and putting the child on his lap, "You know you don't have to be afraid as long as I'm around Kota, haven't I told you that before?"

"But Mamma's being scary Daddy. I don't like when he's scary," the little boy pouted, crossing his arms and trying to fix his features into a scowl. His face was a little too round to pull it off, but he was getting there, and Kanda suspected in the next year or so the young boy would be able to pull off some very cold death glares.

Before Kanda could respond Allen walked over, the green bed sheet in his hand and a smile spreading slowly across his face. There was a girl trailing behind him, her dark brown hair swinging behind her in a ponytail and her tanned skin contrasting greatly with the white jumper she had on. She looked around 8, coming up to the middle of Allen's stomach already.

"Did I scare you my little Kota?" Allen asked, ruffling the child's hair before sitting down on the couch next to his husband.

The girl jumped into Allen's lap exclaiming proudly, "I wasn't afraid of you Mamma. You're too short to be scary."

Allen rolled his eyes at his daughter, giving Kanda a look, "No matter what your father says, I am not that short Letta."

"You've been that short for as long as I've known you Moyashi," Kanda teased, petting his son's hair absentmindedly.

"Tell us the story about how you met again Mamma?" Letta asked, bouncing up and down on Allen's lap.

"Maybe this time Yu would like to tell the story?" Allen looked at his partner, edging him on mentally to comply with their child's demands.

Kanda looked at the clock before answering the question, "I think it's about time the two of you get ready for bed, so how about this. I'll tell you the story, but before I do you both need to get ready for bed."

Both of the children nodded their heads, getting up off of their parents laps.

"We will Daddy, let's go Kota," the little girl took the boys hand and led him off in the direction of their rooms.

After they had left Allen stood up, going to put the sheet back in the closet when he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his middle, pulling him down into his lovers waiting lap.

"You know Moyashi, today marks the ten year anniversary of that day…" Kanda mumbled into Allen's shoulder, lost in thoughts of the life they had led up to this point. Allen took a moment to remember too, the life they had lived so far had been filled with nothing but happiness for both of them, and it looked as though it was going to continue to bring both of them happiness.

Looking back Allen thought about the years that had gone by, as both of them finished high school and collage together after he had been legally adopted by Tiedoll. It seemed a little weird to be in love with your adoptive brother, but neither Kanda nor Allen seemed to mind the stares they got occasionally, and even the comments about incest from some of their former classmates. They weren't even related, but some people just couldn't seem to get over the fact that they were legally brothers.

They'd remained friends with Lavi and Lenalee, who had eventually gotten married a few years ago and now had a child of their own. Allen frequently had the other family over for play-dates with the children. It was good to know that their friends were doing well.

Thinking about his own children he remembered the day that they had adopted Letta, a then three year old from Ecuador. She'd been so cute when they had picked her up from the adoption agency, her hair tied into two pigtails and her face all scrunched up in either fear or excitement, Allen had never figured out which.

Then there was Kota, who the couple had adopted from Korea, at Kanda's request. The man wanted a boy that he could teach the fine art of fighting to, but Kota didn't seem to be as enthusiastic as his father. Instead the young boy had taken on gymnastics and acrobatics, like his 'mother', and much to the couple's surprise it was actually Letta who had wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, taking up the practice of martial arts.

Kanda and Allen were happy, living together with their adopted children and loving every minute of it.

Before either of them could get too far into their thoughts Kota came back into the living room, dressed in a pair of dinosaur pajamas and pulling his favorite blanket behind him.

"Me and Sissy are ready Daddy, can you come tell us the story now?" he asked in a small voice, watching as Allen got off of Kanda's lap and went to put the sheet he was still carrying away.

"Sure Kota, come here little man," Kanda said, getting up off the chair and picking up his son by the armpits, "Let's go get Sissy so I can start the story."

Kota grinned at that and started cheering for the start of the story while Kanda walked towards the children's bedrooms.

Allen shook his head, wondering how his lover could be such a good father when ten years ago he never had the patients to deal with anyone. It was a mystery to him, but Allen was happy either way. There was no way he would try to change the life he had now, it was exactly what he had wanted since the day he had first found his other half.

After putting the sheet away Allen stood in the hallway absentmindedly rubbing the red tattoo on his wrist, smiling softly to himself.

It seemed like forever since he and Kanda had made the choice to go back to their lives as humans. An eternity since Tiedoll, Lenalee, and Lavi had found them in the clearing, sleeping curled up with each other in the grass. Such a long time since Tiedoll had officially adopted him, letting him live with Kanda until they had finally gotten married. Even that seemed to be a while ago, but Allen could still remember each and every detail of their wedding.

Lenalee had arranged it, and it had been absolutely flawless. The color theme had been a mixture reds, yellows, oranges, and blacks, creating an amazing array of colors that mirrored their beauty as phoenix. Allen had been convinced to wear an amazing strapless dress, one that started as a deep dark read on top and flowed down gracefully to the floor, going through the colors of bright red, orange and yellow before ending in a beautiful ivory white. Kanda had been in a completely black tux, his hair worn down at Allen's request, and a genuine smile on his face throughout the entire ceremony. It had been one of the happiest days of Allen's life, and it was those kinds of days that made Allen happy he'd chosen to remain in the human world for the rest of this lifetime.

Allen was again brought out of his thoughts by Kanda, this time a simple hand on his shoulder had alerted him to his lover's presence.

"Are the kids in bed?" Allen asked quietly, looking over his shoulder at Kanda.

"Yeah, Kota nodded off half-way through and Letta was dozing off just as I finished," Kanda reached up a hand to cup Allen's face, "What were you just thinking about love?"

Allen smiled again, this time wrapping his arms around his partner's shoulders, "Our lives. A lot has happened in ten years."

Kanda gave a low chuckle, "I would have to agree with that statement."

Just then they heard a door open, and out came Kota, holding his blanket and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Daddy, you didn't finish the story," he pouted, still rubbing at his eyes.

Allen walked up to the young boy, "Daddy's tired how about Mamma finishes the story for you?"

The boy nodded sleepily, "Okay."

The white haired man picked up his son and carried him back to his room, leaving Kanda standing in the hallway watching them walk away.

"_Allen makes a good parent,"_ Kanda thought, walking back to the living room to tidy it up before going to bed.

He was just placing the last throw pillow on the couch when Allen jumped on his back from behind, "Are you ready?" he asked quietly in Kanda's ear.

"For you always," Kanda whispered back, letting Allen slide to the ground before reaching and grabbing the phone from its holder.

Kanda dialed the familiar number and asked Tiedoll to come over to watch the kids and house for a few hours. As usual the old man was quick to agree, and was at the front door in five minutes flat, it did help that he lived right across the road.

Once Tiedoll was inside the house Kanda and Allen left, taking their car to a very familiar spot, one that they visited every year on this exact date.

It was the clearing that they had won their current lives in, and for every year in the past ten they had come here to pay respects, not only to Ra, the phoenix god who had allowed them the choice to come back, but also to the Noah, without whom they never would have bonded and connected their lives and souls together.

Usually to honor the day they would bring firewood and lit a small bonfire in the middle of the clearing, the same spot they had been found in after the battle. After burning herbs and paying homage to Ra they would walk into the fire, sitting in the embers until the fire had completely died.

This year was different though, and after ten happy years together they thought that they should do something more for Ra, for giving them the chance to live as normal humans. So this year both of them had brought along something to add to the offering, something to represent themselves and show to Ra how grateful they were.

Neither knew what the other had chosen, so as they lit the fire they each pulled out their objects, preparing to cast them into the fire after the herbs.

Allen had brought along a piano string, something from both his past and present. He'd learned to play from Mana, and had somehow carried it on throughout his rough life. Now he'd become a musician, and a good one at that, something that would have never come to pass had he not been allowed to continue with his life. He was grateful to Ra for giving him the gift of music, along with the skill to play, and it wasn't something he was going to forget any time soon.

Kanda had brought a katana, much more simple and basic then the ones that he trained with or created, but it showed so much about the Japanese man. He'd grown up practicing the sword, and now he made a living creating amazing works of art that doubled as dangerous weapons. Without the extra time in the human world he would have never been able to master the technique to make such swords, and for that he thanked Ra every day.

They threw their objects in the fire at the same time, watching as the flames sparked bright pinks and purples as their offerings were received by Ra.

They smiled at each other before clasping hands and entering the fire once more.

**A/N: Story notes first…**

**The names of children. Kota is Japanese for Happiness and Good- Fortune. Letta is English and means Joy and Happiness. I thought it would be cool to give them names showing that Kanda and Allen's lives are happy and full of love.**

**I tried to include all the relevant information in terms of what happened over the ten years between the end of this story and the epilog, I apologize if it seems I've left anything out, or it was rushed, but this is the way I wanted it to end.**

**Announcements…**

**I will be starting another story soon, but I'm not sure which one I should start first, so I'm going to see if I can have you readers decide for me.**

**The names of the two are Through The Ghost and Inked. Through The Ghost is about one of the two dying and coming back as a ghost, and Inked is based on one of my song drabbles, where Allen gets a tattoo from the selective tattoo artist Kanda.**

**Let me know what you want me to publish and work on first, because like I said, I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place right now.**

**Thank you ever so much for reading, and reviewing on this story, it's helped me so much as a writer. So please do me the service of leaving one final review to tell me how I did, and inspire me to work even harder on my next story.**

**Until next time…**


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